


Two Gravities

by Six-string Samurai (Sentionaut)



Category: Kim Possible (Cartoon), Mirror's Edge
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-25
Updated: 2013-06-25
Packaged: 2017-12-16 04:43:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 31,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/857931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sentionaut/pseuds/Six-string%20Samurai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kim's life as a Runner in New Eden is about to take a serious turn when old friends and new acquaintances have a run in with the law. AU. Kigo.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Kim Possible is property of Disney. Mirror’s Edge is property of Electronic Arts. This is a work of fiction and not for profit. Original characters are property of author. A fan fiction by Six-string Samurai. Two Gravities.

20XX, New Eden

The sun was just at the edge of the horizon, a purple golden glow that poured out across the city, setting the glass and concrete on fire.

Kim skidded to a stop, just barely catching herself as her foot slid against the edge of the rooftop. The redhead shot a glance over her shoulder, using the pause to catch her breath and get a feel for her next move. There was still a little time left before the drop had to be made, but even less before her tail caught up. It wasn’t like before, when runners had free reign of New Eden. Two years ago, there was no Eye in the Sky to worry about, no Hench Co goons prowling the skyline. It was a different life, a different lifetime for that matter.

However, she wouldn’t have it any other way. Blues, Hench goons, none of them could keep up with her, not before and most certainly not now. Not when she had her own guardian angel, of sorts. Kim let her gaze cross the sea of air conditioning vents, power generators and water pipes that dotted her world of skyscrapers, housing complexes and high rises.

The last coordinate check on her KPS told her that she still had roughly two miles of cityscape to cover. Kim flicked the com-line open. “Wade, what’s the sitch on the Blues,” her voice cut through the wind that was beginning to pick up across the edge of the precipice.

“Kim, you’re looking at a five minute window, the Blues aren’t quite on the ball tonight, but there’s an Eye heading your way from the G-1 quad. Better hurry.”

“G-1 huh, guess we’ll be meeting up sooner than I’d like. Guess I’d better fly.”

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Wade’s voice came through her earpiece with a small chuckle.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Kim gave the bag looped across her back a cursory tug; this one was a run of the mill drop, two packages to Light Industries Lab, actually one of the few places in the city that she’d had multiple dealings with, one in the last month in fact. She knew the building well enough by now, and with Wade’s help, had planned out five routes to keep the Blues off her back.

She took a few steps back, gauged the distance and pushed off. With the wind at her back she let her momentum carry her across the edge of the rooftop out into the open air. There was the familiar and comforting flutter that settled in her stomach, and then she was flying ten stories above the asphalt, arrowing her body toward the lip of the neighboring building ten feet away and closing.

Kim hit the roof feet first, tucking into a forward roll to bleed the energy from the slight drop, and she was on her feet again, shoes slapping against the concrete. Her path was already laid out before her, she just had to move fast enough to keep up with it. Red ponytail swishing out behind her, she made good time cutting across the buildings, leaping across gaps, hopping over vents and sliding over, under and between pipes of all shapes and sizes. As the sun continued to sink on the horizon, the wind picked up. Te ensuing chill started to bite, reminding Kim that she should’ve listened to Wade when he’d suggested that she wear a windbreaker for this job.

She was just going to have to live with it, she decided. Besides, the extra cloth created drag, which was the last thing she needed at this height. It might’ve been another matter if she’d had a street delivery, but she didn’t, so she’d deal.

The redheaded courier covered three more rooftops before Wade’s voice piped up over her earpiece. “Kim, watch your back, you’ve got trouble heading your way, and it’s coming up fast.”

“Blues, Wade?”

“No, from the radio chatter, the Eye in the Sky left to check out a disturbance on Fourth Street. It won’t be breathing down your neck anytime soon.”

“Well, what’cha got for me?” Kim vaulted up from an a/c unit, tic-tacked off a bit of wall and landed, crouching atop a shed. Just past the shed, tips of a razor wire fence glistened in the fading light. She pushed off and cleared the fence with a good foot of air between her and the cutting edges. “Don’t tell me it’s a bunch of Hench Co goons,” she said, regaining her feet and angling for an outcropping that looked like a promising crossing point to the next building.

“You lucked out this time Kim, looks like Hench is on the ball for once. They’ve got two units in the area, one of which is already crawling the roofs.”  
“Damn. Two units huh. Do we know what they’re out for?” The redhead pushed herself and flung her body across the next gap, cinching the landing without losing too much momentum. She was going to have to really move if she wanted to get to the labs without mixing it up with a bunch of Hench’s little shock troops.

Wades voice sounded clear, despite the rush of blood in her ears, and the whistle of wind that cut harshly across the gaps between buildings. “Yes, it sounds like they’re out after one of your friends from the thirty three.”

Kim sucked in a breath, her forehead creasing. It wasn’t really any of her concern. Not anymore anyway, or so she tried to tell herself. She’d broken ties with the thirty three even before she’d first met Wade. It hadn’t been a clean break, and even now, years later, there was bad blood between them. But they did have a kind of understanding when it came to business, no matter their personal feelings. Usually, Wade kept her abreast of any deliveries between her and any active 33’s on the street. Finding out like this was an unwelcome surprise. “Do we know who it is?”

“Does it matter?”

Kim judged her next leap, “No, I guess it doesn’t.”

Wade picked up the distracted tone in the runner’s voice. He’d been working with her long enough to notice such things, even if he hadn’t been staring at a screen with Kim’s vitals scrolling past. “I’ll look into it.”

“Wade,” Kim’s voice rose in warning. She rebounded off the side of a wall and twisted in the air to snag a drainage pipe. The com remained silent as she shimmied down the length of pipe, dropping to a catwalk on an adjacent wall. Kim’s footsteps rang out along the metal grid work as she watched for another suitable pathway to get her closer to the next building. She heard the telltale click of the com channel. “Wade?”

“Sorry it took so long Kim, you know how the 33 is,” her handler sounded a little bit contrite. “They had a lockout running, probably to throw off the Blues from that little stint yesterday.”

“Little stint yesterday?” Kim frowned; she’d been down at the mall most of the day before and hadn’t really heard about any big activities, and nothing involving the city police. It must’ve been across town, or else Wade would’ve sitched her. When Wade didn’t immediately respond, it made her wonder just exactly how little the incident had been.

“Ah, Kim, sorry. I thought you’d heard. The Blues, well, caught one of the 33’s.”

“Shit. You’re joking right?”

Wade didn’t say anything.

“You’re not joking.”

“No. I wish I was,” Wade trailed off. “It wasn’t anyone you knew Kim. I checked. I really thought you might have heard something, since you came back all moody last night.”

“Moody, I don’t get moody. What makes you think I was moody?”

“I don’t think I’m going to answer that.”

“Wade!”

“It’s Monique, Kim,” Wade changed topics to something a little safer for his own skin.”

Kim screwed up her face in exasperation. Wade always did this to her when she was pressing him for answers. But, dropping old names like this was a new tactic. “They caught Monique?” Kim felt a strange hitch in her chest. She hadn’t heard that name in a long time, but it brought back memories as fresh as the day they were made.

“No, like I said, it was someone new yesterday. Monique is making a run today. She’s who Hench is prowling around for, not that they know that I’m betting.”

The redhead let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Maybe she still considered Monique a friend, of sorts, despite their shared past or maybe because of it. Still, Monique was part of the reason she’d gotten herself out of the 33’s. The hard feelings still outweighed whatever it was she once felt for the girl in her heart. At least, that’s what Kim thought up until Wade spoke Monique’s name.

Now, the cold sliver of worry was creeping into her gut. Hench Co wasn’t like dealing with New Eden’s Blues. Hench Co was a security company that answered to the city on paper, but in practice didn’t pull any punches. Ever since the founder, Jack Hench, started making a name for himself in New Eden, a lot of runners had been taken out of the business, and more often than not, the Blues either turned a blind eye, or in more extreme cases, lent a hand, or more troublesome, an Eye in the Sky toward the capture of the more notorious courier groups.

It was that last point that had her thinking that the goons after Monique didn’t know who they were supposed to be lying in wait for. If they did, the Eye in the Sky wouldn’t have turned away. Hench only mobilizing two units was further proof in her mind. No, if they wanted to catch a runner like Monique, they would have to pull out all the stops. Or just get a little lucky. Bullets were ferociously hard to outrun after all.

But, this was Monique after all. If it had been anyone else, Kim might have, worried. “Wade, where are the 33’s making their drop?”

“One block east, why what’s up Kim?”

“It’s nothing Wade, if I know where they’re heading, I can stay out of the way.” Kim kept up her pace. Less than half a block away, and a dozen stories down, she caught sight of the white and green striped building that housed the Light Industrial Laboratories. All she had do to was make the drop, head three blocks north on ground level and catch the subway back to Wade’s pad. She’d be home safe in half an hour, tops.

Just another thirty minutes.

“Kim, you’ve got another problem. Hench’s sent out another unit, headed your way. Thankfully, the Eye in the Sky’s still headed to the other side of the city, so you probably won’t have to worry about any Blues interference.”

“Thanks, I’ll make sure to stay out of sight. Can you check the rooftop access of this building for me?” Kim skidded to a halt at the entrance in question, locking the location on the KPS unit strapped to her wrist, marking the specific building coordinates for Wade. There was a soft click from the other side of the door almost as soon as she pressed the screen.

“All set Kim.”

“Thanks a bunch,” Kim replied as she slipped past the door and into the service entryway.

\--

Kim slammed her palms against another set of crash bars, pushing through the double doors marked ‘Employees Only,’ that led from the roof entry way and into the service way that ran the length of the building behind the offices and regular hallways. As she ran, she listened to the thud of her footfalls, making sure that no others joined in the staccato hammer of rubber on concrete. Her eyes flashed across the various exit signs, fire alarms and doors with marks indicating they let out into the building proper. She skipped them all, they weren’t what she needed.

“Wade, where are the damn stairs in this place?”

“Keep going down that hall Kim. Turn right at the next intersection, you’ll want the third door on the left. It’s a fire escape, and there’s no electronic lock, so you should be able to go through and head down as far as you want.”

“Great, how far do I have to go to put me one floor above the lab?” Kim picked up speed, now that she didn’t have to read each and every sign.

Wade’s voice cut in as she rounded the corner he’d highlighted. “If you make your way down five floors, it looks like there is a landing that runs a good twenty feet around the corner of the building, at least, that’s what the floor plans show. It’s all on you from there, but it’s less than a floor above the height of the Light Industrial Labs. It shouldn’t be any problem for you.”

“Super, I was afraid I’d have to go all the way down to the street.”

“Heh, only you would consider that a problem.”

“Hey, I have my pride you know,” the runner shook her head, chiding her partner, the action habit by now, even if he couldn’t see it in the confines of the stairwell.

“Yeah Kim, as if I could forget. Just keep on your toes, you’re still going to be five stories up from becoming a street pizza. You aren’t as invincible as you try to make everyone think.”

Kim slid down the rails, leaping directly down every other platform in the stairwell, eating up the distance to her target. She didn’t have all day to sit around chatting, there was a drop to make after all. “I love you to Wade, now be quiet so I can concentrate.” Kim hit the last landing and kicked open the door that was blocking her way back outside.

Moving out onto the metal of the fire escape, she noticed that the sun had finally dropped past the horizon, and even between buildings as she was, she could see the first sparkles of distant nightlife flickering. It was a cloudless night, and this low, the wind had died down rustling her bangs with a faint breeze. Immediately, her eyes snapped down, honing in on her target, the roof of the Light Industrial building.

It was just as Wade said, not more than a ten foot drop, and about that far from the edge of the fire escape. Grabbing the rail, she hopped up, perching herself on the precarious edge. Coiling her legs under her, she sucked in a breath and leapt, uncoiling her body with the grace of a large cat, and with the same motion, curled herself into a ball to tuck and roll as soon as she cleared the landing.

Kim picked herself up, shooting a glance backward up at the fire escape, then at the little clock in the upper corner of her KPS. “I’m still making pretty good time, if I do say so myself. I bet I beat my last benchmark by two or three minutes.”

“Just get in there and deliver the packages Kim, you know this isn’t a race.”

“Who says I was racing,” Kim smiled as she patted the courier bag on her hip, and started jogging to the open skylight she could see a few feet away. It was the same one she’d used to get into the building the last two times, and it dropped down directly into the offices she needed to get to. Very convenient of them to always leave it open, she mused.

“Kim, you’re the only runner in this city that keeps a running score.”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s not about when you get there--,”

“--but how good you make it look,” Wade finished for her. It was the unofficial credo of the runners in New Eden.

Kim always had to take it a step further and go for speed as well as style, and that’s what made her dangerous. Mostly to herself, but she preferred to think of it in another light. Anyone could learn to run around the city, playing across the rooftops and alleyways like it was all a big jungle gym, but she could do it just as well, if not better, and could do it at full tilt. She didn’t just push the leading edge, she was the edge. Everyone else just picked at her scraps, just the way she liked it.

Scooting to the edge of the skylight, Kim peered over, scoping out the offices below. The first time she’d been contracted to make a delivery here, she’d just dropped in, going with the flow, and scared the crap out of a few scientists in the process. She’d had to make the drop and jet because someone had panicked and called security on her. She didn’t make the same mistake the second time, and made sure to let whoever was in the offices know she was coming down first.

Kim watched the office for a bit. It was the middle of the week, and she figured they’d be a little busier, but from her vantage point, she only counted three workers, and only one of which wore something other than a dark tailored suit. She realized the first time, that while the place was called a Lab, the top floors were mostly for the administration; Light Industrial even had a private accounting office somewhere on the top floor, she’d dropped off a package there last month.

While she waited, one of the suits went out of the room, and the redhead was left watching the lone scientist continue to chat with the remaining suit. Kim didn’t recognize either of them, but there were ways around that.

“Wade, I’m here, I need you to call up, what’s her name, she’s probably in the records from the last drop. Let her know I’m here. Who get‘s these packages anyway?”

“Already on it. And its Jessica Stein,” Wade informed through Kim’s earpiece.

“Who’s Jessica?”

“The scientist you met.”  
I  
“Oh, right, I knew that. Never forget a face. Blonde, right?”

“That’s what her profile shows. You met her, not me.”

“Right. The blonde one. See, I told you I’m good with faces,” Kim said smugly, leaning against the window frame.

“The packages go to, a Doctor Choi. Looks like this guy is the head of the Robotics Division, office on the second floor.”

“Doctor Choi, Robotics 2nd floor, got it. What’s the sitch with Jessica?”

“You mean Dr. Stein?”

“Dr. Stein, Jessica, yeah, whatever. Get with it Wade, is she working tonight, or not?”

“I’m checking, not everyone is perfect. Can’t a guy catch a break?”

“I heard that Wade.”

“I know, it wasn’t supposed to be a secret. I think I’ve earned the right to hassle you a little, don’t you think, Miss Possible?”

“Cut it out Wade, you know I hate it when you call me that.”

“And it doesn’t bother you when everyone else does?”

“Everyone else who? The people who are jealous of how great I am?”

“Well, I hear things in the Blues chatter. Hench Co, too.”

“I bet. It’s probably not flattering,” Kim grimaced.

“No, not usually. Sometimes it’s kind of, you know,” Wade trailed off.

“As a matter of fact, no I don’t. It’s kinda what?”

“Well, it’s not flattering that’s for sure. The stuff from the Hench goons, that’s mostly derogatory. But, why does it bug you when I do it?”

“The others can call me whatever they want, as long as they stay out of my way. You, on the other hand, you sound like my mom when you say it.”

“Oh, um, sorry.”

“Yeah, well, don’t mention it. Ever,” the pony tailed courier rolled her eyes. “Let me know when you find out about Jessica.”

“Dr. Stein.”

“That’s what I just said.”

Wade sighed over the com. Sometimes for as bright as she was, his runner just didn’t seem to grasp certain social niceties. Doctor was a title that had to be earned, and was hardly common in experimental fields, such as the one Dr. Stein worked in. Respect should be given where it was due, and Doctor Stein had his respect, that was for certain. Wade had read all three of her books after the first time Kim had met the woman, and since then, his respect had only increased.

But, Wade had the sinking suspicion that such things just didn’t make a blip on Kim’s radar. In fact, he was willing to bet that the redhead didn’t see anything past the Doctor’s pretty face. Glancing at a series of monitors, he found the one he was looking for; on Dr. Stein’s profile screen, there was a full color picture, just a head shot really, from her personnel files at the Labs. Even he had to admit that the woman was a real looker. Wade shook his head, Kim Possible was anything if not dedicated to the pursuit of her goal; whether it be making a drop, giving the Blues the slip, or snaring a pretty face.  
He was only relived that for her, the job came first. Usually.

“Wade?”

“Checking Kim, checking.”

Wade’s fingers danced across the keyboard in front of him, pulling up the Labs daily work log. Keying up a search, he had the good doctor’s work schedule up in seconds and found her log in entry for that morning. There was no log out time stamp. “She’s still there.” He scrolled through a few days entries, out of curiosity, then dropped the connection. “She tends to keep late hours, sometimes not even going home until the next work day.”

“Sounds like someone loves their job.”

“Yeah, seems like the Doctor is a real workaholic.”  
“I wasn’t talking about Jessica.”

“Uh, I don’t know what you mean.”

“Sure, Wade, you just keep telling yourself that, Mr. Super Stalker.”

“Kim! You asked me to find out if she was still at work,” Wade replied aghast and slightly hurt.

“I didn’t expect you to tell me what she likes to eat for lunch and dinner while you were at it.”

“I didn’t. I just checked her schedule out of professional curiosity.”

“So, tell me,” Kim whispered.

“I did, she’s definitely still at the Lab.”

“No, what does she like to eat?”

“W-what?”

Kim choked back a laugh. “I’m sorry, it was too good to pass up. I wish I could’ve seen your face.”

“Just make the drop and get to the subway before Hench gets it in their head to look for you too.”

“Right, mission first. Got ya. And Wade,” the redhead paused.

“Yeah,” Wade asked warily.

“You did let Jessica know I’m here right?”

“She said she’s on her way.”

“Thanks.” Kim smiled into the night air.

“Hurry up, okay.”

“Make the drop, get my ass out of dodge. Roger.”

Kim sat back and waited for the blonde to make an appearance. Hopefully certain other people were having as uneventful night as she was. Kim sighed, wondering if things were going to go back to the way they were a few years ago, back when she was running with the 33’s. While it had been a rush, there were things that she regretted and didn’t need to have to deal with. Not now, not when she was back on track with her life. Hearing Monique’s name had been a bit of a shock, a ghost from the past that she’d thought she’d buried, but the wounds were still fresh. 

It still hurt, and she needed something to take the edge off. When she got back to Wade’s place, she’d have him check on Monique, make sure she steered clear of Hench, maybe monitor the Blues chatter for any info. It would make her feel better, no runner deserved the kind of guest treatment Hench Co provided. No one, not even a back stabbing bitch like Monique.

Kim realized she had a bad taste in her mouth. Suddenly, she wasn’t sure she was in the mood to see Jessica again after all. Too bad the choice was taken away from her with a shrill little whistle that drifted up through the open window.

Raising up off her elbows, Kim glanced down into the office. The two from earlier were gone, and in their place stood the blonde haired, baby-blue eyed petite little lab coated body of her favorite scientist, Jessica Stein. Oh, she knew the woman had a doctorate, probably more than one, but Kim refused to address her as anything other than Jessica. Doctor just sounded so, impersonal. If the older woman insisted, Kim supposed she would settle for calling her Doctor Jessica.

“Ms. Possible, it’s all clear.”

Kim winced, well there was that. But she could overlook a fault or two. Not everyone could be the best. Kim let it go and flipped down into the office, landing on the ground three feet away from Jessica, who recoiled instinctively in shock, but schooled her expression just as quickly. She was nothing if not professional.

“I have these for a Doctor Choi,” Kim pulled out two thick manila envelopes from the orange courier bag dangling against her hip. She held them out to the blonde at half an arm’s length, determined that if the other woman was going to take them, Jessica would have to come to her.

“Shouldn’t you give these directly to him,” the doctor asked, stepping closer to reach for the envelopes anyway.

“I would have, but you guys have a little problem with your air conditioning vents. I didn’t want to have to skip out on another little party like last time.” Kim held the packages for a few seconds before relinquishing her grip, leaving the doctor with the two packs of paper.

The blonde doctor allowed herself a small smile. “I can see how that might be inconvenient for someone in your line of work. I’ll make sure that these make it onto Dr. Choi’s desk as soon as I leave.”

Kim watched as the blonde turned halfway, making to go. “I still need to get this invoice signed.” Kim gave a little grin, “the boss is a stickler for paperwork, I’m sure you know how it is.”

The scientist paused mid-turn, “I take it you’re still using that armband?” Jessica glanced at the KPS on Kim’s wrist. “Sorry…watch.”

The courier regarded the unit for a moment, nodding. “Yeah, it does the job. Here,” she pulled out a small filament screen from the side of the KPS, a piece of clear flimsy plastic that unrolled to five inches in length and an inch in width. The plastic curled into a ring once it cleared the edge of the KPS. “Have Dr. Choi sign this, I’ll know the transaction’s finished then.” she caught the arched brow that Jessica was giving her. Kim shrugged. “Paper’s a hassle these days for us, leaves a trail that we don’t need to have lying around. It‘s all on a secure server, some kind of random routing pattern stuff I only pretend to understand. But, we haven‘t been caught yet, so I guess it‘s working just fine.”

“Ah, makes sense.”

“Yeah, well, it wasn’t exactly my idea, but you know, whatever keeps the Blues off my back.”

“Hm, that’s what I keep telling the rest of the staff here, but they don’t seem to appreciate my input half of the time.” Dr. Stein tapped one of the envelopes against her elbow in thought. You know, this reminds me, I think I have some papers that need to get across town. Think you can spare a few minutes, hang around till I get back?”

Kim clicked the com open. “You getting this? What’s the sitch with Hench Co?”

“Yeah, the rest of the night’s all yours Kim, we don’t have anything else lined up. It’s your call. And there’s no word on anything with the 33’s, Monique or otherwise,” Wade informed her.

The redhead turned her attention back to the doctor. “Look’s like I’m at your service. Bring me the stuff and tell me where you need it to go.”

“I’ll be right back with the papers, and Dr. Choi’s signature.” Dr. Stein left Kim, her pumps muffled by the thin carpet.

“Well, that could’ve gone better,” Kim muttered under her breath.

“What was that? I could barely hear you,” Wade chose that moment to chime in.

“Nothing. It’s nothing, I was just thinking out loud,” the courier rubbed a gloved hand across her face. What was she doing, this was ridiculous. She wasn’t some giggling schoolgirl any more. Why did she have to beat around the bush anyway? Just go for it, Kim told herself. You don’t even know if she’s interested. I know, I know. That’s the whole problem! Kim ran a hand through her hair, wondering when she’d become so indecisive.

Not wanting too pace around, she hopped up onto one of the desks, folding her legs Indian style while she waited for Jessica to return. If things kept going like they were, Kim knew she was in for a long night.

By the time Jessica returned, Kim had collected herself. Hopping down off the table, she met the doctor halfway from the door she’d come in through. The courier tapped her KPS, “Dr. Choi’s signature came through. Thanks.”

“He was very appreciative of your expediency. He said for me to tell you that if he needed anything else in the future, he knew where to go.”

“It’s good to know my hard work doesn’t go unnoticed by my clients.“ Kim saw the blonde had a stack of folders tucked under one arm. “I guess that’s your package?”

Dr. Stein followed the direction of the redhead’s gesturing, “These? Yes, I was hoping that you could get them to an associate of mine. His office is on 120th and Oak, Build-,” she paused when Kim held up a hand to stop her.

“Put the request through my boss, it’s easier in the long run,” the runner rolled a business card across her knuckles, palmed it and clasped it into the blonde’s hand. “We’ll keep in touch,” Kim said, slipping the folders out from the other woman’s arm. She put them away into her courier bag and spun on her heel.

With a handful of quick steps, she sprung up onto the nearby desk, jumped from there to push off of a square support column and leapt high, grabbing the lower ledge of the skylight. With a bit of swing in her hips, she levered herself up and was out the window, crouching on the roof. Turning to look down at the Doctor, she gave a wave, “Don’t forget to call,” she said, making the familiar call me gesture.

Down below, Dr. Stein furrowed her brow as she watched the svelte shadow slip away above. She found it was getting harder to figure out the redheaded runner with time, not easier. But, she’d never been very good connecting with other people, which was part of the reason that she’d gotten into robotics in the first place. Her colleagues used to make a big deal about it, but lately, they’d gotten off her back about her social life, or lack thereof.

Shaking her head, the blonde looked down at the small red card Kim had placed in her palm. It was simple and to the point, just a simple phone number staring back up at her. Flipping the card over, she found it was blank on the back. Jessica slipped the tiny red rectangle into the front pocket of her lab coat and left the office to head back to the labs. She still had a lot of work to do before she retired for the night. Truth be told, she’d probably end up conking out at her work station again, or if she was lucky she might drag herself to the couch in the break room, catch a few winks. Such was the life of a workaholic. Jessica closed the office doors behind her as she left.

Kim was two buildings away by the time she contacted her handler again. “Wade, where to?” The connection was silent for a few seconds, then the earpiece clicked on.

“Well, it looks like your Doctor friend wasn’t kidding. 120th and Oak is all the way on the other side of the city, quadrant P-7. The entire building is leased out to a D. Lipsky, but there’s not a whole lot of information to go on.”

“Is that the guy I’m making the drop to?”

“No, Dr. Stein didn’t include a name when she contacted me, just a building and room number.”

“That’s kinda weird.”

“Hm, want me to find out anything else?”

“No, I’ll just wing it. But, keep me informed on the thing with the 33’s. I’m not expecting anything tonight, but just in case, I’d like a heads up.” Kim checked the time. It’d been thirty minutes since the situation with Monique and the Hench goons, so if Wade hadn’t heard anything by now, there was probably nothing to worry about. Not if she knew Monique. No matter their past, or the bad blood between them, the girl could take care of herself, Kim was willing to bet on that.

“Sure, you’ll be the first to know if anything crazy goes down.”

“Great, it’s good to know I’m first on your list,” she chuckled. “So, do I take the Red Line, or Green Line to get there? I always get those two mixed up.”

“Take the Green Line, you can catch it at the usual place.”

“The one two blocks north?”

“That’s the one. Lemme see,” Wade cut out for a moment. “Looks like you can make the next one if you hurry. It leaves in fifteen minutes.”

Kim nodded. She could run two blocks in ten minutes at street level. Cutting across the top would shave at least a minute off her time. Fifteen minutes was child’s play. “All right Wade. Just steer me clear of trouble, and I’ll make it in plenty of time.”

“Way ahead of you. Now, get going. You might have all night, but some of us want to get to bed at a decent time.”

Kim laughed, if anything her handler kept odder hours than she did. She wasn’t even sure the last time she’d caught him napping, much less actually sleeping in a bed. On the other hand, the night was young yet. Like the man said, she had all night to play around. With that, Kim was off, sprinting across the rooftop as she angled herself to the north west. A little rotating arrow flickered to life on the face of her KPS pointing the way toward her next destination. A handy guide, she had to admit, as the build in GPS had saved her countless hours in the past year, allowing her to take almost straight lines to wherever she needed to get. 

That, bundled with constant input and updates from her handler, and there was a reason she handled the majority of the deliveries across New Eden. Speed and Efficiency, it was her motto, just after her personal maxim of being the girl who could do anything. At least she didn’t have to worry about having a swelled head.


	2. Chapter 2

Kim Possible is property of Disney. Mirror’s Edge is property of Electronic Arts. This is a work of fiction and not for profit. Original characters are property of author. A fan fiction by Six-string Samurai. Two Gravities. 

 

After a short ride on the Green Line, Kim made her way from the overpass she’d departed the train at to the street corner where she would be making the drop. Sometimes she used the rail stations, but that either required money for a ticket, which she was low on at the moment, or a rail pass, which would allow for any interested persons to track her movement via the public transit system. That was the last thing a Runner would want, especially one that the two largest policing agencies in the city were on the lookout for. No, these days she made a habit of riding atop the train cars, usually by jumping down from an overhang, or a bridge that ran across the track.

There were plenty of both in the city, thanks to the recent development of the canals that ran parallel to both the subway and the above ground rail works. These days, bridges and overpasses from the highway loop crisscrossed the city at regular intervals, like a network of veins to the heavy traffic flow, especially in the newer business district she did the majority of her jobs in.

Not that her preferred mode wasn’t without substantial risk, a fact that Wade liked to use against her now and again when he was in what Kim privately referred to as Mother Hen, mode. That usually happened whenever she was about to do something extremely risky, fun, or in Wade’s opinion, something stupid. Kim just considered the more outrageous stunts a job perk. The way she saw it, if she wasn’t living on the edge, she wasn’t doing something right.

Which brought her to the current situation. It was one of her less frequent, Holy Crap moments.

Kim found herself craning her neck to even try and see the top of the building that stood at the corner of 120th and Oak. Even compared to its brethren here in the north eastern business district, it was ridiculously tall, practically dwarfing several neighboring high-rises.

“This is the right place, right,” she was mostly talking to herself, but a familiar voice in her ear chose to answer anyway.

“Yeah, KP it is. I was surprised myself when I first checked the blueprints. You know, the majority of the businesses in the city are co-ops, and are either jointly owned, or belong in part to a companies’ shareholders. And that’s just the smaller five to ten story ones. Add a few more floors, and you’re usually looking at several businesses renting out the floors individually, or even just a few offices. But this, this is a real piece of work. Twenty stories tall, and two sub-basements, all owned by one man. Kim, that’s a lot of real estate in one place, even with the market as good as it is.”

Kim just continued to gape, trying to wrap her head around it. How was she supposed to get in? It was a very rare occasion on which she could just waltz through the front doors and judging by the security guards standing inside the entryway that was not going to be happening this time. “Wade, what have you got for me? There’s no way I can get to the roof from anywhere nearby, and all the walls are mirrored, no hand holds that I can see.”

Indeed, the outer walls were nearly vertical, smooth as a lake, and slightly tapered toward the top. There weren’t any ledges to climb, nor did she notice any windows that were open anywhere near the bottom floor. The clincher on the deal was that the building wasn’t all that wide and was well within the confines of the property boundaries; at least she guessed that the small park that ringed the building was part of the same lot. Either way, the next closest structures were three office buildings, each more than three or four hundred feet distant, and might as well have been across the city for all the good they could do her, none of the three were more than half the height of the gigantic glass tower.

“Just a sec, I’m almost into the building network. Almost…there we go,” Wade said with a hint of satisfaction. “Hm, there’s another set of firewalls embedded in here, but I have full access to the building security and the overrides for alarms on the emergency exit and maintenance doors,” He paused a moment, probably getting a better look at the schematics. “Well, there appear to be four doors on ground level, aside from the main entrance, three are fire doors and the last was that maintenance door, well either that or a delivery entrance, the plans don’t specify. But, get this; they’re all flagged as one-way. They only open from the inside. I guess we’re going to have to get creative to get you inside.”

“Like what? Digging a tunnel?”

“Not hardly, not with the foundation they’ve laid.”

“I was joking. I’m pretty sure I didn’t bring anything to dig with.”

Wade didn’t respond to her attempt at levity. “Oh, it looks like they have a neat little setup going with the fire suppression systems. I don’t know what protocols they use for handling employee evacuation, but I’m willing to bet that if I trigger a few false alarms on one or two floors, it’ll make quite the distraction.”

“And I can slip past through one of the side doors when they exit while they’re running around dealing with the problem,” Kim concluded, nodding her head.

“It’s not the greatest plan, but considering we‘re doing this short notice, it‘s the best we‘ve got. I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. The only problem would be getting you back out of the building unnoticed. Dr. Stein’s package needs to get to the seventh floor.”

“Only the seventh? Here I was, worried that I’d be sneaking in all the way to the top.”

“Kim, you know what happens if they catch you. My hands are pretty much tied at that point.”

“Yeah, don’t sweat it Wade, this is no big. You just let me know when the coast is clear.”

“Hey--,” the hacker’s voice dropped off.

“Hmm?”

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. The last thing we need is more Blues breathing down our neck.”

The courier shook her head in amusement. “Okay, mom.” And to think, she once wondered how it was that her boss could possibly prefer staying holed up in a room surrounded by computers all day long. The guy was a bona fide worrywart. Sure, he did happen to live in what amounted to a penthouse suite, but the only rays he ever caught were the emissions of his dozen monitors. If he wasn’t one of her very few friends, she’d probably have been forced to do something about it.

But he was, so she didn’t. Kim just did her job, and Wade did what he had to do to keep the both of them as far off the radar of the city government as could be given the nature of their work; which meant that she put up with a little of his harping now and again, totally not the drama.

Kim didn’t have long to wait for her chance. Almost as soon as she got the word, the front doors of the building, as well as a smaller door off to the right side, flung open and a handful of people began trickling out through the doors. Even as Wade had begun outlining the plan, she’d made her way across the street, and positioned herself under one of the thicker trees that flanked the property.

Now, as more and more people left the building making for a sizable crowd that appeared to be doing more than standing and staring up at the building aimlessly, she darted out from her cover and made her way toward the side entrance since it was less obtrusive, and had the look of an emergency exit. With luck, it would open to someplace a little more out of the way of prying eyes. 

She’d seen two or three of the security guards out front already, milling around with the rest of the crowd. Honestly, she thought it was kind of sad that they weren’t a bit more professional. What they should be doing was making sure that no one was trying to go back inside the building until everything was checked out, preferably by the fire department. Which is what she was banking on, since the longer they had to wait for someone to show up before heading back to work, the better chance she would have to drop the package off and sneak back out none the worse for wear.

The sun had long since given way to night, and Kim welcomed the additional cover, especially since there were a few small accent lights scattered around the greenery leading to the building, and five brighter spot lights on the ground out front, trained up high on the walls. Nothing terribly worrisome, but under other circumstances, might have been a problem. For now, she contented herself by moving quickly, making a beeline for the side door that was now all but neglected as the last of the workers rounded the front corner of the building to add to the gathered crowd. Kim thought it was a bit ironic that there were a few that had drifted away from the mass and were talking rapidly amongst one another, waving around an arm or two for emphasis, the dim cherry red glow of lit cigarettes in hand. The courier disappeared into the building with none the wiser, a smirk forming on her lips.

Once inside, Kim paused for just a moment to get her bearings. The fire alarms were still blaring, but she tuned the warbling sound out in favor of keeping her attention on any stray workers or guards that might be making their way to the exit behind her. Thankfully, the hallway was clear. Doing her best to continue ignoring the ringing that echoed around the building, she activated her KPS to get her bearings. Her fingers flew over the interface, toggling through the menus until the building schematics that Wade had uploaded popped up.

It wasn’t fancy by any stretch of the word, but it was ample enough for navigational purposes. Keying up the first floor, a wireframe overlay snapped into focus on the tiny screen, replete with a miniature You Are Here arrow that changed direction depending on the way she was currently facing, handy that.

Satisfied, she pulled back the view to find the nearest stairwell, not willing to risk an elevator, even with Wade keeping tabs on the place’s security hub. It would be all too easy for a passerby to spot at a time when the elevator shouldn’t be in use at all.

As it turned out, the entrance she’d taken was situated just down a short hallway from a set of stairs, and better yet, the hall was completely empty. This, while convenient, was a bit odd, considering the sheer size of the place. Kim hadn’t exactly been trying to take a head count outside, but she was positive that there couldn’t have been more than thirty or forty employees in the crowd, and a fraction of that had been identifiable as security guards. For twenty floors it seemed kind of off. “Wade, just out of curiosity, what kind of work do they do here?”

“I think this is a first for you. Why, what’s up?”

“Nothing in particular, just that there’s an awful lot of, well, building, for not a whole lot of employees. And I’m pretty sure I waited long enough for everyone to get out, cause I went in once the guards stopped glancing toward the doors. I didn’t see anyone doing a head count, but then again, no one really looked all that anxious or nervous either,” the redhead pounded up the stairs, passing a sign for the second floor as she spoke.

“Maybe they’re used to fire drills. It does make sense if you think about it. Like you said, they are working in a big place; they‘d need to maximize safety margins and proper exit procedures in the event of an emergency. It‘s either that, or run the risk of lawsuits or dozens of employees filing for workman‘s compensation. Personally, I‘d stick with the training, so I didn‘t have to worry as much about the overhead later on should my people get injured on the clock,” the voice in Kim’s ear chuckled.

“I hope you’re not making another jab at my expense.”

“Kim, you can’t even get health insurance, of course I’m making a joke about it.”

“Not like you’re one to talk,” she shot back.

“Yes, because I put my body at risk every chance I get. I’ve broken more bones than most people can count, and I brag about it like it’s my greatest achievement,” Wade’s voice came across dryly.

“Whatever, I’m not in the mood to banter with you about this again. Just tell me how many people are supposed to be here so I can know to be on the lookout or not.” Kim huffed, pushing past the exit to the fourth floor. At least she was halfway there already. It could have been much worse, like on the twentieth floor, or something. That would have been a real bitch, at least on the way up. She might have reconsidered taking the elevator had that been the case.

“It looks like fifty people, that is, counting the rent-a-cops.”

“Rent-a-cops? The whole security is hired help?”

“That’s what the records say. You’d be in a better position to tell than me. I’m just going by what’s on my screen.”

“Yeah, well that would explain how lazy they were being. Must be a low end contract, definitely not Hench Co. material.”

“Really? Judging by the money this Lipsky guy is throwing around, I expected nothing short of a personal task force, maybe special ops, but at the least Jack Hench’s goons are nothing to sneeze at.”

“You don’t have to remind me. They aren’t exactly packing non-lethal weaponry these days. Not after the riots started up again last year.”

“I don’t have a good signal on you in there Kim, are you almost done?”

“Crap Wade, I don’t see you in here climbing these stairs. Stop whining,” Kim glanced at the nearing sign as she came up on it. “One more floor.”

“Well, pick up the pace; you’re not home free until you’re back on the street. Besides, I’d thought I’d let you know there’s a fire truck on the way.”

“Shit, already? What? Is there a fire station on this block or something?”

“Three blocks away actually. And they’ve been on the ball ever since those protesters broke out the Molotov cocktails.”

“I seriously doubt this jungle is going anywhere in the near future. There’s too much riding on the city for them to let our petty freedoms get in the way,” the red head narrowed her eyes as her words spilled out irritably.

“We’re doing the best we can with the hand we’ve been dealt. This is all we can afford at the moment.”

“Yeah, well, it doesn’t always feel like it,” Kim quieted down as she slid up the last few steps to the seventh floor, sidling across the concrete pad to the door. “Okay, I’m there, just gotta make the drop.”

“You’ve got maybe a minute, tops, before the truck gets there.”

“Tell me the moment they get in, and start looking for other ways to get me out of here. It’s not like I’m dressed for a luncheon right now, so I doubt I could just walk past anyone that comes up looking for a fire.”

“No problem,” Wade informed her. “You’ll have until they cut the fire alarm to get out of there before people start heading back in.”

“They have to check every floor right? That should by me some time if I can hide somewhere and let them pass me by,” Kim said more to herself than anything as she opened the door to get into the seventh floor.

Originally, she’d though that the large blank spaces in the center of each floor displayed on her KPS were there to indicate walls, but as she stepped out from the doorway, Kim found herself looking across a huge open space, almost like an atrium, only with no plants to liven up the view. As interesting as the concept of a hollow building of this size might be, it also meant that her odds of getting out unseen had dropped phenomenally. “Um, we’ve got a little sitch here.”

“What’s up, are there still people in there with you?”

“No, not that I can see, but when the firemen show up, they’ll certainly be able to spot me. Wade, the inside of this place is completely open. This isn’t some kind of weird hotel is it?”

“The plans don’t say what Lipsky is using it for.”

“It might’ve helped if you’d told me the building was hollow you know.”

“Sorry, Kim, I’m not an architect. It just looked like a bunch of enclosed offices to me.”

The courier glanced at the little arrow on her KPS that pointed toward the room she needed to get to, and took off running in that direction. Company was set to arrive any second and the sooner she got into one of the offices and out of sight, the better, as her green cargo pants and purple tank-top didn’t exactly blend in with the light blue décor.

Down the corridor on her side of the building, Kim counted three doors, set at a wide, but even interval, each recessed into the wall. Across the gap, on the far side she counted two doors, and from what she could see off the floors above and below on that side, none of the floors were exactly the same. Also all of the entryways were completely opaque, with none of the frosted glass the image of an office that was more common in the majority of the buildings she’d been to around New Eden.

The first door she passed bore a little embossed clear plastic placard to the right hand side, just under her eye level on the closest edge of the recessed portion of the wall. It read Lab 2A, but she didn’t bother to check inside since it wasn’t the one indicated on the KPS. In fact, the guide arrow was angled diagonally across the gap. Mingling with the constant alarm, she caught the faint sound a fire engine wail. Kim picked up the pace, rushing to get around the corner and hopefully to her destination before the help arrived.

When the blare of the engine siren suddenly became a whole lot clearer, she knew they’d probably entered the main doors six floors below.

“Kim, watch yourself, you’ve got company now,” Wade interjected just as the runner was about to give him a piece of her mind for not informing her.

“I know, I could hear them come in.”

Scooting around the corner she dashed toward the door that was blinking on her KPS display. “This door better not be locked Wade.”

“There’s an electronic lock, but it’s not engaged right now.”

“Great. This is turning out to be more of a cinch than I’d thought, especially after seeing the place up close.” Kim sidled along the last few feet of wall up to the door and gave the handle an experimental tug. Like Wade said, it popped open freely, and she slipped through as the door to Lab 3B swung inward with a little applied pressure.

“All right, I’m in. Say can you do something about the lights in here?” Kim asked even as she felt around the edge of the wall for some kind of switch, or motion activated sensor, to no avail. The room was pitch black, with no windows as far as she could tell. Having pushed the door closed behind her, she was floundering around in a pitch black area.

“I’m right on it, just hang on a sec.”

Kim noticed that the door to the lab must’ve been pretty thick, because now she could only barely hear the alarm ringing out in the corridor with it shut. She idly wondered just how safe that would be in a real fire. When the lights still hadn’t come on after another minute, she opened the com link again, “Do I need to start worrying?”

“Hang tight for a bit, I’m having a few issues with the security system.”

“What do you mean issues? I don’t know if I like the sound of that.”

“Give me a minute; some of the firewalls are starting to pop back up. I don’t have full access right now.”

“I don’t have time for this, I’m just gonna drop Jessica’s package here by the door and consider it delivered. The longer I’m stuck here twiddling my thumbs, the closer I get to being caught.”

“Kim, just wait another minute, I’ve almost got this thing beat. You know just as well as I do that anything the Doctor entrusted to us is probably pretty important. If it falls into the wrong hands, and she gets wind of it, we could lose her business. Do I need to remind you what she paid us for that drop last month?”

Kim sighed, “No, you don’t. And you’re completely right, in this case. Besides, it’s not like I want her getting upset with me, that would be a major hiccup in my plan.”

“Do I even need to ask?”

“Nope. Just get me some light in here. I can barely see half a foot in front of me with the glow from the KPS. The last thing I need is to accidentally trip on something and sprain an ankle.”

Kim waited none too patiently by the door for another two or three minutes, listening to the dim warble of the fire alarm, and a low thrumming sound coming from somewhere out in the darkness of the lab. It was mildly disconcerting, since she couldn’t quite place it, though it was a tad familiar.

“Kim, there’s some good news and some not so good news.”

The courier cursed under her breath before piping up, “Stop beating around the bush, I’m ready to get out of here.”

“Uh, the lights should be coming on right about, now.” True to his word, there was a steady plinking noise and one by one, rows of fluorescent lights flickered for a few seconds in the ceiling before snapping on, bathing the lab in a stale antiseptic white.

Kim blinked away the spots in her eyes, shading herself from the harsh brightness with one gloved hand until her vision adjusted. “Yeah, good. I take it that wasn’t the bad news. Though they could’ve chosen better bulbs, that’s for sure. Maybe something with a dimmer switch.”

“I don’t think most companies bother with that sort of thing, unless they’re dealing with photosensitive materials.”

“Wade! What’s the damn sitch?”

“Right,” the hacker paused, thrown a bit by the courier’s angry tone. “Well, when I was getting past the firewalls, I noticed a bit of pickup on the local chatter. I only set off three of the alarms, and from the sound of it, the firemen have pretty much wrapped up their end of things. They should be leaving any time now.”

The redhead craned her head toward the door. Sure enough, she didn’t hear the alarm going off any more. It looked like she this was her cue to get moving. She’d been hoping it would have taken them more than five minutes to clear a twenty story building, but if all they had to do was check the area around three tripped alarms, two or three minutes wouldn’t have been unreasonable.

Now that her vision had cleared, she was able to see just what sort of place she’d walked into. Kim let out an involuntary gasp at the sight. The room was fairly large, and pretty much dominated by a huge clear tube in the center, rising out of the floor and up into the ceiling. The walls were crammed with rows of machinery, tubing and pipes, all of which appeared to be vibrating slightly, probably the source of the thrum that permeated the air.

But what had nearly taken her breath away was the contents of the giant tube, a row of pale naked bodies hung suspended in a purple haze of bubbling liquid. She found herself taking several involuntary steps toward the tank, out of some morbid curiosity in getting a better look. Crossing the span of feet, she weaved around a desk cluttered with notes and a bunch of what might have been machine parts next to a computer monitor.

Up close, she found that the bodies were androgynous, genderless and faceless. They might have been store display mannequins for all she knew, at first glance anyway. But, the longer she stared, the more certain she was that their chests were rising and falling slightly, as if they were breathing. It was probably the second most disturbing thing she’d ever laid eyes on, falling just after the time she’d accidentally caught her parents in bed. No one ever needed to suffer that sort of childhood trauma.

“Okay, it’s official, I’m ready to get the hell out of here. Where am I supposed to leave the drop anyway Wade, this place is a mess.” She pulled her eyes away from the floating bodies, and scouted around the room for a decent place. There were two other desks aside from the one she’d just walked past, and neither were any less cluttered.

“Dr. Stein said the papers need to get to a Doctor Harris.”

“Nice, I’m not exactly seeing any name plates in here. I might just have to ‘eenie-meenie-minie-mo’ it.”

“Kim, we talked about this.”

“Yeah, I’m looking, all right?” She moved to the nearest desk, pulling at the set of drawers on the right hand side, but found them all to be locked. “That’s one down.” She maneuvered across the floor to the next desk, repeating the procedure with much the same results. “Got to hand it to these guys, they run a tight ship.”

The final desk yielded better results as she stumbled across a stack of memos next to the computer, they looked like office stationary. Rifling through the stack, she eventually found one that was dated and had a ‘forward to’ in the letter head. “Doctor Malcom,” she shook her head. “I’ve got two choices, and I’m just picking one so I can get the hell out of this creepy freak show.”

When no complaints were forthcoming, she pulled out the papers that Jessica had entrusted to her and slapped them down on the desk with the least amount of crap on it. That way, it was less likely to be missed for the foreseeable future. “Okay, I’m on my way out. How does it look out there?”

Kim moved to the door, waiting for a reply.

“I’ve got a video feed from a few of the video cameras; it doesn’t look like they’ve started coming back in just yet. I can’t get a good view of the lobby though. For some reason none of the cameras are pointing toward the main doors.”

“That’s kind of a stupid set up,” Kim scoffed, wondering what kind of idiot decided that brilliant idea.

“Agreed. It’s not a small blind spot either, which puzzles me more. It’s like they want people to be able to sneak in the front door.”

“Why have guards there then? Crappy ones at that.”

“Your guess is as good as mine at this point. Now, get a move on, I won’t be able to tell when they come in until they’re right on top of you.”

“It’s not like I’m taking the elevator Wade. I’m going back out the way I came in. The stairs are right by the side door anyway, so I’ll be avoiding the crowd. I bet they aren’t even in a rush to get back to work anyway. Probably just glad to get an extra smoke break.”

“The place looks more like a research lab than a regular business, so I doubt they’re pulling in hourly wages,” Kim heard him say.

“That’s beside the point. It’s the principal of the matter,” she edged the door open and poked her head out. The corridor was filled with an uncomfortable silence, now that the alarms had been shut off. She listened to the quiet for a moment longer, then bolted for the stairs, her quick footfalls muffled by the swirl patterned carpet that lined the corridor.

Just seven flights of stairs between her and a job well done.

\--

The scene out front of the Lipsky building was another matter all together. One of the firefighters was busy confirming the false alarm with one of the security guards, while the rest packed back into the truck. Off to the side, the employees were still huddled in small groups, amidst a scattering of voices. The fireman finished saying his piece and jogged back to the truck, hopping in the driver’s side. 

Just as the truck started to head back out onto the main road, a sleek black sports coupe came roaring down the lane that lead from the thoroughfare through the middle of the park and up around the tiered fountain that stood in front of the building. With a sudden squeal of breaks and the strong scent of burning rubber the car pulled to a stop just short of bowling through a trio of employees. There were a few muttered curses at the near miss, but all talk quickly ceased when the driver all but slammed open the door and stepped out of the vehicle, fixing the entire crowd with a glare that promised intense pain to the next person that so much as breathed the wrong way.

The guard that had been talking to the fireman earlier decided to head off any problems at the pass, and hurried over to meet the driver who was already starting up the concrete steps toward the main entrance. He was about to speak as they met halfway at the top of the steps, but a black gloved hand rose up in warning, so he swallowed what he’d been about to say.

“I just want to know one thing. Why is it that I get a call, disturbing me at my home, when I just left this place…how long ago was it? Oh, yes, not even an hour ago!” Emerald green eyes lit up with barely leashed fury at the chopped off words.

The guard just shifted his eyes to the side, not daring to meet that gaze directly. This was just the beginning, and he’d seen what happened to the last guy that was stupid enough to interrupt.

“Well? I saw a fire truck, but look,” the gloved hand waved furiously toward the direction of the building. “I don’t smell any smoke. There’s no fire, and I certainly don’t see any fucking problem with the building. So, what am I doing here? Did one of you call me for shits and giggles? Let me know, so I can sort this out, and get back home before my dinner gets cold.”

Feeling a bizarre sort of relief, the security guard jerked his thumb back toward the newer of the other two guards standing a ways back. At least this wasn’t going to fall on his head. Once he realized the blame was safely off of his shoulders he opened his mouth. “Ms. Shego, Tom made the call, pretty much right when the alarms started going off. No one had time to let him know otherwise, or even see if it was a false alarm or not. I only found out when I heard one of the suits talking about it after we’d gathered everyone out here like you instructed last time.”

“So, let me get this straight. Tom, who only started working here last week, got it in his head to call me at my house, and leave a message telling me the place was burning down,” the irate woman spoke much quieter this time, more deliberately, brushing aside a strand of black hair that had fallen across one narrowing eye.

“Yeah, that’s pretty much what happened,” the guard replied hesitantly, feeling as if he was missing something his boss was saying.

Shego nodded as if confirming something. “And how exactly did he get the number to my house, in order to call me in the first place. Feel free to stop me if you see where I’m going with this,” she turned her head back to the now speechless man in front of her. “I’m waiting Frank.”

Frank, the guard in question was at this moment sure of two things. The first was that he was the only one who was supposed to have that particular number, aside from the owner of the building. The second was that he’d just lost his job, if he was lucky. And if he didn’t think of something to say in the next two seconds, they would probably be mopping him up off the concrete. Sweat broke out on his brow as he struggled for something placating, or even just relevant to say.

Shego however, was not feeling patient today, and Frank’s estimated two seconds dropped to one. When she saw that he wasn’t going to be using mouth words any time in the foreseeable future, she jabbed the badge on his chest hard enough to dent it with one gloved finger. “Who gave him my damn number? Because, unless my mind is suddenly failing me, you Frank, were the only one with access to it. It sure as hell isn’t posted up on the corkboard in the office, so I know that can’t be how he got it.” She gave him another sharp jab. “I gave you specific instructions. Did you forget a little thing we set up here called the Chain-of-Command? There are only seven of you, it’s not that hard to remember!”

The pain in his chest must have worked, because Frank was suddenly a whole lot more talkative. “W-wait! Look, I gave it to the guys so they’d have a way to contact you in case something happened to me!”

“So, you not only gave it to Tom, but everyone in the whole fucking building,” Shego almost exploded. “And you didn’t stop to think that maybe there was a reason I don’t want the number to my house just floating around for anyone to pick up? It’s an unlisted number for a damn reason!” She clenched her fists in frustration. “You’re not only wasting my personal time, but now I’ve got to get the damn number changed. Shit. You-,” she raised her left hand and watched Frank flinch backward. “You’re damn lucky that the Doc’s budget is tight for the next quarter. I can’t afford to hire someone to replace you, not right now, anyway.” Shego fixed him with a hard stare. “But, don’t think that puts you in the clear. I’ll work you double shifts if that’s what it takes to knock some sense into your head.”

The sable haired woman turned her attention toward the other guards, fully intent on giving them a piece of her mind as well, when she caught a flash of something in her peripheral vision. Whipping her head in the direction of the movement, she watched as a swiftly moving shadow darted from the far edge of the building out toward the trees. Now, who the hell was dumb enough to be prowling around the doc’s property?


	3. Chapter 3

Kim Possible is property of Disney. Mirror’s Edge is property of Electronic Arts. This is a work of fiction and not for profit. Original characters are property of author. A fan fiction by Six-string Samurai. Two Gravities. 

Pressing her forehead against the wall tiles, Shego caught her reflection mirrored across the ebony surface. Awash in the green haze of the steaming water that rained down through her hair, down her shoulders and stinging the abrasions and bruises that ran the length of her sides, she slapped her palms hard against the wall, curling her fingers into tightly frustrated fists.

“Damn, damn…damn you, Shego,” her words were nearly lost in the soft patter of water against the warm floor. “Just watch the girl fucking walk away. Brilliant idea, right up there with letting her beat you like a piñata,” one hand uncoiled to press against ribs that ached with the shower’s heat, and the phantom crush of knuckles. A sharp breath slid past her teeth as she increased the pressure, trying to feel just how bad the damage was without looking. God knows her nearly albino completion did wonders at hiding the mottled purples, browns and greens that scored her sides. The raven haired woman hissed involuntarily as her questing fingers brushed against a particularly tender spot.

Shego spit out a bit of errant water and toggled the temperature dial up a few degrees with her other hand. She turned, resting her back against the cooler wall tile. Her waist length hair, pressed flush by the downpour, covered her in a velvet curtain that hid her self-recriminations as she turned over the last few parting minutes under the bridge in her mind.

\--

“--im, Kim?”

The woman in question stifled a groan at her handler’s impeccable timing. “Yeah, what is it,” her response was a little slow in coming. “Trouble with the Hench goons?”

“What? Ah, no. But, at this rate you’ve already missed your ride. I know you said you were taking care of something, but it’s been more than ten minutes since I lost your tracking signal in the aqueducts. At this rate, you won’t make it in time to catch the next train either.”

“Yeah, I ran into a pretty big speed bump down here, I don’t think I’ll be up to dealing with both Hench Co and old drama. Not tonight. If something goes down, she’s just going to have to deal without me. I wasn’t really looking forward to seeing her so soon anyway,” Kim rubbed at the purpling blotch on her forearm where she’d taken the brunt of her opponent’s first blow. It was probably going to look and feel a whole lot worse in the morning, but the redhead was just grateful she’d taken the hit there instead of to the temple where it had been aimed. This was just inconvenient, that would have probably been fatal.

“If you say so. It’s all the same to me either way. You know how I feel about the 33’s,” Wade reminded his lone employee. “So, I take it you’re heading home then,” he conjectured, changing the topic.

“Um, in a bit. Probably,” the courier’s words were just this side of uncertain, and her handler easily picked up on it.

“KP?”

“It’s nothing. I’ll call you when I get in,” or if the Blues show up, she finished mentally. Kim cut her side of the connection. She didn’t feel up to talking with her boss any more just now. Instead, she refocused her attention on the faint outlines of the woman leaning against one of the pillars a few feet away, to the eyes she couldn’t quite make out, but could feel still focused on her nonetheless.

As if on cue, the faintly mocking voice that Kim had heard often enough in the last half hour to easily recognize rang out, breaking the silence left when the redhead turned off her earpiece. “So, sounds like you make a habit of breaking and entering, if you’ve got Jack Hench breathing down your neck; and here I thought what we had was special,” the voice came out mock hurt.

“And what would that be exactly? The thing where you stand there and I break half your ribs,” Kim replied just as sardonically.

“Please, you barely managed to tag me. You’re the one who kept getting tossed ass over elbows.”

The Head of security for Lipsky Industries was met with a resounding snort of disregard. “I’ve had worse, believe me.”

“Oh, I’ll bet. Found yourself on your back more times that you can count. That right, Princess,” the pale woman’s voice lilted across the short distance that separated them, all but lost in the darkness.

Shego felt the younger woman’s gaze boring into her, even if she could only just make out the outline of the redhead’s face. She smirked, sure that she’d just won a point in whatever this was that the fight had dwindled into. She found over the years that sometimes it was just as satisfying to win a verbal war as it was to pound your opponent into gibbering submission with your own two fists. Finding a grin eating its way onto her face, Shego quashed it as her thoughts wound their way back to the reason she was here in the first place, and not lounging on her couch with a stiff drink and maybe catching up on one of her shows. The throbbing pain that accompanied each breath she took told her which of the two ways to spend the evening was more promising. She fished into her pocket for her cell phone. There had already been more than enough fun for one night.

“Yeah not nearly as much as you have.”

The pale haired woman was concentrating on getting the phone out without adding considerably to the gnawing pain in her side that she nearly didn’t hear the weak comeback that fell wholly ineffectual.

“Nice, I almost nodded off in my old age, waiting for you to clear the gunk outta the pumpkin you’ve got sitting on your neck, and that’s the best you could come up with?” Shego grit her teeth as she finally worked the phone free. The woman narrowed her eyes in the direction of the cumbersomely thin pockets she couldn’t actually see, one of the few disadvantages of the nearly skin tight uniform she sported. She normally kept her phone in one of the inside pockets of the leather jacket she wore over her suit, but she’d been royally pissed off at getting called in and had left the jacket in the passenger seat of the coupe when she’d stormed out of the car, intent on turning a few morons inside out. Shit, just thinking back on it was enough to get her blood boiling.

The pale woman’s ire didn’t go unnoticed when the light from her phone’s display illuminated her face in the gloom. The scowl slowly deepened as her gaze flicked to the screen, and more importantly, the garbled text that flickered and fuzzed around a series of hairline cracks running through the center of the display. Muttering a curse under her breath, she hit the speed dial and held the damaged phone up to her ear.

There was a garbled tone and then the phone cut out completely, either there was no signal or there was more damage than just the cracked screen. Shego tried again just in case, but she didn’t even get the little crackly tone. Disgusted, she barely held herself from chucking the broken cell against the nearby pillar.

It was little surprise then when light laughter reached out across the space between them, trying the very last of the raven haired woman’s patience. The courier’s unintentional nudge was all it took for the phone to achieve flight. A dull little thunk and curse of pain told Shego she’d scored another point.

“Damn it, you were aiming for my head! What’s your problem,” the redhead cursed futilely in the direction the projectile had come from.

“Nothing. Just making sure your gourd isn’t going all soft and mushy inside,” Shego let the rest of her frustration bleed away, deciding that the night was pretty much a wash at this point. If her night wasn’t going to get any better, why should she be the only one to suffer. She’d never considered herself a generous person by any stretch of the word, and this was the extent of sharing that she felt comfortable with.

“I’m pretty sure something’s wrong with you, you know that?”

“Hmm, coming from you Princess, that just might be a compliment.”

A few feet away, Kim rubbed her bruised arm where the phone had struck, thankfully a little closer to her hand away from the painful swelling. Strangely, this wasn’t the first time someone had chucked a cell phone at her. It just happened to be the first one that hit home. It was infinitely preferable to being hit by one of the CB radios the Blues used to carry around, and far better than being pistol whipped. Kim rubbed her arm a little more then reached for her KPS. Now that she didn’t have to worry about the acerbic woman calling backup, she could get moving again and take her time getting home without a hassle.

“This has been fun and all, but I think it’s past my bedtime. Maybe we can play again some other time,” Kim grinned, sure she couldn’t be stopped again.

“Where do you think you’re going, Pumpkin?”

“Well, since you’re so not going to be giving the Blues or that idiot Hench the sitch,” the courier drove home her point with the resounding crunch of plastic as she ground the other woman’s cell phone against the concrete beneath her sneaker, “I’m taking off. The arm hurts something fierce and I kinda need it in my line of work, so I think it’s time to call it a night.” Giving the ruined cell phone a final stomp, Kim turned toward the light at the end of the bridge that she’d been heading for before she’d been waylaid by the persistent security officer.

Shego winced at the sound of her phone getting worked over. Sure, she’d thrown it in the first place, but that didn’t mean that it didn’t bother her when the girl summarily crushed it. It had been a fairly new model, not cheap, and she knew that her insurance plan didn’t cover the abuse it had just undergone, despite the fact that it had probably been irreparably damaged even before being used as a makeshift missile. “Aren’t you forgetting something Pumpkin? Think I’m gonna let you walk away just like that? I don’t need any cops to do my job for me!”

Shego caught another round of that too damn happy laughter as her answer, and ground her teeth. “Ha, ha… You think I’m joking? I’ll show you where you can stick that arm of yours you keep whining about!” The pale woman took a few steps toward the shadow she could barely make out slowly moving away. With the third and fourth step, she felt burning daggers slip between her ribs and almost dropped to her knees. It was a lost cause at this point, and she knew it, even if she wasn’t willing to admit it, especially if she wasn’t. All she could to was hurl insults and empty threats at the thief who’d gotten away. The only thing Shego had to show for the encounter was the faint taste of embarrassment, potentially cracked ribs, an all to familiar bitter taste in her mouth, and one busted to hell phone.

Shego’s stomach chose that moment to growl, reminding her that she’d missed dinner too. Damn it.

\--

Dialing the water off, Shego blew out a breath and pushed away from the wall. Padding carefully across the slick bathroom floor, she pulled out a towel from the heated drawer on the far wall. Working at drying her hair, she walked over and stood in front of the glass paneled space heater to drip dry by the large frosted window that overlooked the lake behind her house.

Ten minutes, and a change into comfortable sweat pants, later found the pale woman digging around her walk-in closet for a first aid kit once she’d already torn through a dozen cabinets with no luck. “Why isn’t anything ever where you leave it?” The statement was not lost on the woman as she knew full well just how orderly she kept her living space. It was due in no small part to her reasoning that the cleaner she kept it, the less actual cleaning she ever had to bother with. It was a sound theory, and one that in most cases continued to hold true, save for the few occasions when she misplaced something and ended up pulling everything apart in a single-minded quest for some random trinket or the few times that she’d had one too many drinks and lost the TV remote, or the keys to her car.

It was probably no small coincidence that she found the sought after item in the last place she thought to look, which happened to be under her bed, and in hindsight made a good deal of sense, if only to her.

“Figures. Outta the one thing I actually needed,” the little white box went arcing across the bedroom and through the open door of the closet. Shego ran a hand through her hair as she cast around for something that she could use as a makeshift bandage to tape her ribs. She just knew it was going to be a bitch to get to sleep tonight. The raven haired woman had a habit of curling up on her side, and that just wasn’t going to be happening this time. Not without an abundance of painkillers to knock her out, or something equally strong.

Making her way out into the living room, Shego eyed the recliner across from the flat screen. If she slept there, it would be much easier to keep from rolling onto her sore ribs. Another glance went to the wet bar near the island in her kitchen. She kept it stocked, but more for a sense of completeness than entertaining any guests. She didn’t do parties, and until tonight, she’d been sure that no one even really had access to her contact information either.

Involuntarily, those thoughts pulled her eyes to one of the three photos in the whole house, a small black frame that rested on a shelf near the entertainment center. She couldn’t make out any real details from across the room, but neither did she have a need to; it was the last remaining picture of her parents when they’d still been together. Most of the time, Shego hated that picture and the fake happiness that it represented. That decided it for her, and she went to the little glass refrigerator under the sink on the right hand side of the bar in search of a suitable lullaby.

\--

By the time Kim finally dragged herself through the door of her apartment, she was exhausted. Too tired to do anything more strenuous than slip her shoes off, the redhead navigated across the mess of clothes and boxes strewn across the floor, boxes that she’d never bothered unpacking even after having lived here for the past six months. Aside from the little table in the kitchen, there were exactly two pieces of furniture in the front room, a glass and metal entertainment one that she’d cajoled out of her parent’s house just before moving to New Eden.

The walls were painted a light shade of blue, but like the rest of the place, devoid of any personal touches. Likewise, the kitchen was a scattered mess of delivery cartons and take-out boxes, and a few unwashed cups and dishes waiting patiently in the sink. All testament to the redhead’s on-the-go lifestyle. It wasn’t much, but it was home.

Dragging her feet, she blindly thumped against the door to her bedroom until it swung open under her weight, spilling her into the room where she collapsed in a heap on her bed, dead to the world at large.

Lost somewhere between the front door and the bed, Kim’s KPS flashed a silent plea.

\--

“Kim, I’ve been trying to reach you since last night.”

The redhead was currently staring bleary-eyed at the screen of her communications device, debating not for the first time the merits of flushing it down the toilet. Sure, this whole thing was her job, but lately it was feeling like she couldn’t even get a day off once in a while. She was only human, and thus could only keep going for so long before something broke. “Yeah, sorry. I noticed a few missed calls, figured it was you.”

“No one else can call you on this equipment.”

Kim rubbed her good arm across her face, wiping away the last vestiges of sleep from her eyes. “Can it Wade. I feel like hell, and it’s too early for me to struggle with your lame attempts at humor.

“You started it,” Wade shrugged, visible on the tiny screen.

“And I’m sorry for that,” Kim picked up the unit and carried it over to set it down on the countertop in the kitchen, brushing aside a box of junk. “So, sitch me,” she continued clearing space around the coffee pot, trying to figure out where she’d tossed the rest of the unused filters.

“Kim, you look like something the cat dragged in.”

“Thanks, I wasn’t going to say anything about that rat clinging to your chin, but since you brought it up,” she shot over her shoulder, grumbling something about invasion of privacy and sticking to audio mode.

On his side of the screen, Wade scratched at the week’s worth of stubble he’d been unsuccessfully trying to cultivate. He still couldn’t understand why his dad could grown a sick beard while it felt like he had to coax out each hair individually. He’d been trying on and off again, shaving every day for two months straight after his seventeenth birthday last year, and the best he could do was a half-decent goatee that the redhead had nixed as soon as she’d caught sight of it. After that he’d tried again at a full beard, but apparently the ladies didn’t find patchwork facial hair all that attractive, if Kim’s reactions were anything to go by.

“Wade, if it’s that much trouble, I don’t know if I’m up for it today,” Kim’s voice cut through her Tracker’s musing.

“No, sorry, it’s not that,” the young African-American assured his lone employee. “Got sidetracked for a moment.”

The redhead succeeded in locating the filters and popped the top on a small fresh can of imported coffee, very rare these days, that she’d received as a gift on one of her deliveries last week. She didn’t accept tips, but some of the long term customers she dealt with had found that she had a hard time declining small tokens of appreciation, usually things that would easily fit in her ever-present courier bag. The coffee had been one of the more practical ones of late. “Lay it on me Wade,” Kim said, turning to stare at the little display on the counter across from her.

Wade hedged for just a moment, now that he was faced with a serious pair of green eyes, sleep-addled though they might be. This was part of the reason he’d taken to dealing with her through mostly audio communications. He found it harder to talk with her face to face as the years past. This wasn’t the fresh-faced idealist he’d met six years ago. The young woman on the other end of the connection was far more practical, a little jaded and prone to bouts of cynicism. But, she hid it well, especially if you didn’t know her personally.

Outwardly, he’d come to find that Kim acted pretty much the same as back then, but the difference being that it was almost forced at times, like a mask that she was loath to put on. The redhead even hid herself from him a lot of the time, behind banter and words, though Wade suspected she wasn’t always joking when her words hit closer to home than he would have liked under normal circumstances.

But, he didn’t really blame her for it. He knew full well where the majority of the fault lay. Even if it wasn’t any one thing in truth. That was just life, especially in this city. It was the government, the leash on the media, the grime and corruption that flowed just under the shining mirrored façade. It was her brothers, the November riots, the college students killed by the actions of the city security forces, the loss of her two closest friends. All of it. It tore at Kim, and he of all people was in a position to see it clearest, even if there was next to nothing he could do about it.

So, he did what little he could, and that was finding more work to keep the redhead busy. As a Runner, she didn’t have the luxury of time to sit and think, to dwell on the past and problems that she had no control over. There was only the next drop to concentrate on. Wade thought it had been working marvelously, at least until Hench Co. had put their hat into the ring.

That’s when the game had begun to change. The inherent dangers in Kim’s job practically doubled, and it hadn’t helped when the riots set off the Blues, setting the Law on edge in the city, forcing them to tighten their hold. There was a general crackdown on the spread of information, mass media and even personal communication, all under the guise of limiting the chances of the threat of another organized armed protest, or the ridiculous death toll of the November riots of the previous year.

Now, two of Kim’s old gang had been caught, hopefully only cooling their heels in one of the Blues precincts. He hadn’t caught word of any trials, and that was probably the thing that worried him the most. Well, other than Kim’s reaction to the news he’d been trying to tell her since the night before. “It’s Monique. They caught her last night,” Wade paused as an unreadable expression flashed across Kim’s face.

“Hench,” Kim forwarded softly, as if she were afraid of the response.

Wade felt himself relaxing as the hard look flashing behind her eyes softened just a tad as he shook his head. “No, luckily for her, it sounded like the Blues set the whole thing up, using the presence of Jack’s units as a diversion to spring an ambush.”

“Then they were working together,” the redhead put forth.

“No, it didn’t seem like it. I think the Blues were just playing off of Hench, probably just a lucky break. You know how Hench practically broadcasts the position of his men when he sends them out. It’s not a very effective practice other than as a deterrent. At least, that’s the impression I got at first. But with this, well…,” Wade frowned.

“They’re changing the rules of the game,” Kim finished for him.

“It’s not just that, Kim. I’m not sure if we’ve ever really been playing the same game this whole time.”

“What are you talking about? I haven’t had any real problem dealing with them yet.”

“Not until they broke out the firepower,” Wade pointed out.

“Well, there is that. Which is why I keep off the street. The Blues aren’t nearly as effective up in my playground.”

“And Hench’s men?”

Kim grunted non-committal, turning to see the coffee pot was at the halfway mark, another minute or two and it would be done. Already the heady aroma of the Jamaican blend was tugging at her.

“That’s what I thought,” Wade watched her fiddle idly with the handle of a coffee mug, seemingly fascinated with a spot in the cup that he couldn’t see from his vantage point. As he waited for her to say something, he couldn’t help but notice the way she was absently cradling her right arm just under her chest. “You never did tell me what happened last night.”

The redhead started at his comment. “What are you talking about? The drop? You know I made it. Just because I couldn’t get a confirming signature doesn’t mean that I didn’t do my job,” Kim shot a dry look in the direction of the KPS.

“Kim, you know that’s not what I’m talking about. What’d you do to your arm? You missed your ride, and you were under that bridge in the aqueduct for a good ten minutes. I think the least you could do is give me an explanation.”

“I told you, I ran into a little trouble, and I’m still here, aren’t I? I took care of it.” the courier spoke, holding her injured arm up. “This, I might have fractured. It hurts something fierce, but it doesn’t feel broken, and it looks like the swelling went down overnight. Give me a day or two, and I’ll be back in top form. So, no worries.”

“Kim…,” Wade wasn’t so easily put off by her sudden levity. If anything it was suspicious, but as usual the redhead just turned the subject around on him.

“Look, we both know that I’m not the problem here. You called me about Monique, right? The Blues have her and I’m not too sure how I feel about that right now. I have little love left for that woman, her or Ron,” she made a face and spat out the name as if it were poison. “But, that doesn’t mean she deserves the kind of treatment she’s likely to get, not if I’m not dishing it out to her.”

“It doesn’t even sound like she’s up for trial. You know what that means.”

“Shit, are you sure? That’s ridiculous. Keep checking.”

“That’s what I’ve been doing since last night when I got the news. There’s also nothing set up for the other Thirty Three they bagged. There’s no love lost between the higher ups and the Runners on the streets. I think they’re planning on using these two as an example. It makes the most sense.”

The redhead frowned, closing her eyes to think for moment. The beeping of the coffee pot brought her out of it, and she filled her mug with her good arm. Blowing on the steaming liquid, she cradled the mug and turned her gaze back to Wade’s tiny face. “You know I can’t just let them execute her.”

“No one’s expecting you to. But, this isn’t like making a drop. You aren’t just going to be able to waltz into the Blues’ precinct and pick up two wanted criminals just like that. Not only that, but you just admitted to me that your arm is probably fractured, if not broken. If that’s not a liability, I don’t know what is.”

Kim flexed the hand in question, unable to hide the wince of pain on her face. Wade was certainly right about the arm being trouble. “I don’t think Monique has two days left for me to sit around on my ass while this heals.”

“I can’t answer that, not right now anyway. I’ll need to look into it more, and maybe risk snooping around deeper into the system. At this point, your guess is as good as mine. We could have a week to pull this off, or we could have as little as a day. I won’t know until orders are posted one way or the other.”

“And I don’t like that.”

“It’s the best I can do right now. On the bright side, the other runner they caught hasn’t been sentenced yet, so they could be waiting, hoping to make a bigger bust. For all we know, the Blues are aiming to take out the whole group in one fell swoop.”

The courier took a tentative sip of her coffee, determined to enjoy some part of this morning. “Are you trying to slip me a not so subtle hint?”

“A hint? I don’t know what you mean. I’m just saying my info is limited. I don’t need to tell you that,” Wade paused. “We might work together, and I try to think of this as more a partnership. It’s not like you’re just the legs, and I’m just the brains of our little business. You have contacts that I just don’t have access to,” he stopped at Kim’s raised brow. “On a trust-worthy level anyway,” he amended. “Like it or not, you’re the face that people know and like.” Wade scratched at his sparse beard absently. “Or so you’ve pointed out now and then.”

“Wade, you know I didn’t mean the thing about the rat,” the redhead lowered her eyes, feeling a little bad about the knock on her bosses appearance when she knew it was a sore point. It didn’t matter that he’d started in on her first.

“Thanks, but that’s not quite what I meant. I can get into the 33’s system well enough, but I can’t exactly talk to them one on one. Not after the city took most of the grid down. But, you, you aren’t limited by the grid.”

“Hell no. I’m not talking to that prick.”

“Kim, you’re hurt. If you want to do this, you could use the help.”

“Wade, no. Just…no.” Kim’s coffee sploshed around as she tried to make an x-ing motion with her arms, to ill effect.

“They might try something on their own, and play right into the Blue’s hands.”

“So, if they’re going to take a crack at it anyway, why do I have to try and coordinate something? Can’t I just use them as a distraction, you know, slip in when the Blues are occupied?”

“That’s the whole problem, we don’t know when, or even if, they’re going to make a move. If this goes down, it’s not just going to be a few arrests. The Blues will probably claim it’s an attack on the city, and use it as an excuse to get them out of the way permanently. If it pans out, what’s to stop them from instituting a manhunt on the remaining Runners? Where does it end?”

“Damn it Wade, you better not have been planning this. I don’t want to talk to that cheating snake, much less have to see him, and potentially have to work with him on this.”

“If there was another way, believe me, we’d use it. I don’t like this idea of you going after the Blues, trust me on that. This isn’t a job, just remember that. Neither of us are getting paid. We can just walk away.”

“And let two people die, when we might have been able to stop it? Give an excuse for the Blues to run wild over the city?”

“Yes, it’s always an option.”

“It was never an option, you knew that as soon as you told me my ex-best friend got caught.”

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry, Kim.”

“Me too Wade, me too. Give me a little while to get myself ready. I’ll do it.”

“I’m behind you all the way.”

“We’ll talk about this later, after it’s done. I don’t appreciate being backed into a corner into seeing Ron. Not after all this time.”

“All right, I’ll keep that in mind. Just let me know when you’re set to go.”

The redhead reached across the counter to turn off the display screen. She finished her coffee in silence, wondering just how the hell her day had just been so utterly screwed. “Monique, I’m so going to own you after this,” Kim muttered over the lip of the mug. It was going to be a long long afternoon.


	4. Chapter 4

Kim Possible is property of Disney. Mirror’s Edge is property of Electronic Arts. This is a work of fiction and not for profit. Original characters are property of author. A fan fiction by Six-string Samurai. Two Gravities. 

There was a distant tone that should have meant something, but it escaped the pale form twisted up in a mess of sheets, for a long few seconds. Eventually, an arm worked its way free and fumbled around on the nightstand to shut the irksome thing up. Fingers closed around the base of the phone and snagged it. “Mm, what,” Shego garbled into the cordless handset.

“Yeah, uh huh,” she sat up as best she could, tossing the offending linens to the side. The voice on the other end of the line rose in pitch, and she had to hold the phone away from her ear until the yammering subsided. “No, no I didn’t,” ruffling her hair, she made a face at the dry taste in her mouth. Maybe a cup of espresso would get rid of it, or a cold glass of orange juice. “Hang on, I’ll be there as soon as I can,” or as soon as she felt like going. Shego didn’t relish the thought of combing through security logs, or standing around while her boss tried his damnedest to tear her a new one. “I don’t know, twenty, thirty minutes? More if the traffic is all fucked up.”

The phone got a little quieter. “Huh? What the hell do you think? You just woke my ass up, I’m not a freaking night owl…Look, I’ll get dressed and meet you there in as close to thirty minutes as I can manage,” rubbing her temple, she did her best to calm down. She hated driving across the city when she was pissed. If she let herself get all worked up now, it would make the day just that much longer.

Shego let her boss go on again for another minute, keeping most of her opinions to herself. “Sure, I’ll remember just who signs the paychecks, got it. Yeah, twenty minutes. I’ll be there,” she pressed the call button, cutting off the rant that had started up again. For a genius, her boss was incredibly dense on the simplest concepts, and constantly found new ways to irritate her.

Tossing the handset back on the cradle, she stretched, working the kinks out of her back, and invariably reminding herself of the little workout she’d had the night before as a sharp twinge of pain lanced through her side. “Gh,” she dropped her arms and prodded gingerly around her ribs. There was no visible swelling, but she was sporting a faint set of bruises. “Damn, girl’s a skinny little firecracker,” Shego recalled the hits that the redheaded thief had slipped in under her guard. Maybe the cameras had caught something that would help identify the girl. Satisfied that she wasn’t anything more than a bit sore, Shego rolled out of bed and padded to the kitchen to get a pot of the good stuff brewing while she got herself ready for work.

By the time all was said and done, Shego shifted her R8 into park in the underground lot of the Lipsky Building just past seven. On the off-chance that the girl had gotten away with anything, an extra hour after an entire night’s head start, wouldn’t be making much of a difference. Besides, other than threatening to cut her pay, she didn’t believe for one second that her boss was going to do anything as drastic, as say, firing her. He’d had a hard enough time getting anyone near as qualified as her to work for him in the first place. Outsourcing the job was no better an option either. Not when the only available manpower in the city belonged to Jack Hench.

Besides, for all the yelling and complaining he did, the two of them had been working together for the larger part of five years now. Unfortunately, she knew him probably better than he did himself, and he understood that, in his own strange way. For that reason, he placed an inordinate amount of trust in her, not just for the noirette’s various skills, regarding most of what was actually going on within the rest of the company, not just the main complex.

Frankly, far too much of her boss’s plans disturbed her on one level or another, but she paid it little mind, at least until any actual results showed. Until then, she considered them the idle dreams of a reclusive eccentric.

Locking up her car, she headed to the elevator and up to the office suite of Drew Lipsky, to get on with round two of their morning chat. Hopefully, her fashionably late arrival had given him time to cool down, but it was a very faint hope.

Getting off the elevator, Shego shook her head. It never ceased to annoy her that the building was becoming exceedingly personalized. As such, many of the facilities and rooms, not excluding the elevator she’d just exited, and employee washrooms, featured piped in music that was set to customized playlists. An ID chip embedded in certain uniforms would trigger the music on entry, and apparently to avoid conflicting lists, Shego found that her chip overrode nearly any other list playing when she walked in. The problem with that was her boss personally set up the playlists.

It had been going on for about a week now, and so far, she’d only ever heard hers playing. It was a four song rotation, none of which were songs she particularly liked, and certainly not after hearing them constantly playing faintly in the background. The only benefit she’d found was that people had quickly learned to shut up and at least look busy when she popped by to check on things.

Thankfully, she found she didn’t have to deal with it in several places, one of which was past the double doors she was currently stopped in front of. Placing her hand inside a small plastic dome on a stand just to the right of the office entrance, she waited until she felt an all too familiar sting, and watched as the dome glowed a brief green before she removed her hand.

“Identity confirmed, Sheri Gordon. Welcome, Sheri Gordon.” an electronic voice informed her from the stand. Honestly, it was another pet peeve of hers. For reasons that she didn’t particularly care to dwell on, Lipsky had rigged most of the computer terminals equipped with vocal status confirmations in a rough approximation of Shego’s own voice. It wasn’t exactly hers, but it was close enough that only a moron wouldn’t notice the similarity. Her only consolation was that very few systems in the building supported the voice software, and thus barely a handful of people working here even knew about it.

“Yeah, stuff it. Let me in already. And, stop calling me that,” She groused, for the upteenth time. Complaining wouldn’t do any good, since the system wasn’t set up to respond to anyone but Lipsky, as far as she knew. It never spoke to her, aside from the standard greetings, that the raven haired woman could recall. Which was fine, since she hated the sound of her own voice coming from anything but her own lips. Probably why she never left messages, and only spoke to her boss directly whenever the occasion arose.

Which reminded her, as the doors finally opened, she would have to see about getting him to replace her phone. It had been a work related accident as far as she was concerned, so it should be fully covered under company expenses.

Across the polished floor, Drew Lipksy was sitting behind his desk, attention slowly moving from the row of monitors on the wall away toward his Head of Security as she strode in. “Punctual as always. How glad I am to find that some things you do can still be counted on,” snide though his words might have been, they were lacking the earlier manic edge. Folding his hands across one another on the desk, he stared at Shego with a critical eye, as if weighing something intangible.

“I’m here aren’t I,” she said, folding her arms. Now was one of the times where she had trouble deciding if his stares were supposed to be intimidating, or just a creepy leer. A long scar down the left side of his face that turned just at the corner of his mouth, lent credence to the latter. She’d never gotten around to asking what it was from, and her boss had never volunteered the information, even the first few times after he’d caught her involuntary stare.

“Yes, there is that. But, why must you always stroll in on your own clock? You’re on company time, my time. Not Shego time,” he leaned back away from the desk. “Start keeping that in mind. There are things that depend on quick responses, and last night’s incident might very well have been one of those things.”

“I showed up as quick as I could,” she started to say more, but realized that it would be better to argue with a wall.

“In that speed demon of yours, I don’t doubt you were flying down the road,” Drew nodded, before pointing a remote at one wall monitor.

“Hey, it’s a classic, don’t knock it just because you pedal around in that tiny claustrophobic box you like to call a car,” she unfolded her arms to wave a hand disgustedly.

“Quickly or not, the intruder still managed to get away. You of all people, know that there could be dire consequences if certain information were to be leaked out. I didn’t spend all that time and money getting the permits and contracts to build this complex just to have it yanked out from under my feet because you weren’t good enough to catch a girl half your age,” he pulled up a composite image of said intruder on the monitor, taken from the cameras from the stairwell.

Shego stared hard at the image as it rotated, giving them a detailed approximation of the young courier. It was the first real look she’d gotten, given the lack of light when the two of them had fought under the bridge. The girl, who did appear younger than herself, was probably in her early twenties, if that. But, either way, certainly not half Shego’s own age, that was for sure. Five or six years younger, at most. She mentally filed the insult away for later. This was important and she didn‘t need to get sidetracked into a shouting match with the boss man. “Any idea who she is, or who she works for?”

“That’s precisely what I’ve been trying to find out since I arrived two hours ago. Since you’re here, I’ll leave it up to you. I know where she went in the building, but the question is why. There are the clones to consider. I believe the last progress report was at sixty-seven percent.”

“And, just where did she get to,” Shego tried to get him to clarify. Sometimes, well, most of the time, she found talking to him was akin to pulling teeth. His was definitely not a simple one-track mind.

“Didn’t I just say? She came in and made a beeline for Lab 3B,” the scowl on his face served to deepen the scar as it creased.

“3B,” the Head of Security had to think for a moment, drawing a mental map of the building to figure out which Lab that was. Then she had it, and it made more sense as to why her boss was babbling about his latest side project. “Oh, that Lab,” she said as it dawned on her.

“Yes, that Lab. She wasn’t in there for more than two minutes, and there doesn’t seem to be any tampering with the equipment. However, the Doctors aren’t due to come in until ten,” he finished.

Shego rubbed the bridge of her nose, feeling like she should be pacing back and forth across the floor in frustration, “Can we just call them in early? It would help to sort this out, as fast as possible. Isn’t that why you got me up at the crack of dawn?”

“They need to be well rested for their work. Especially at this late stage. It’s vitally important that they are clear headed and focused,” he paused, giving her another of his weird glances, “Just as I expect you to be, at all times. That’s why I pay you the big ones.”

Did he actually just say that, she wondered. The pay check wasn’t all that great, to be honest, but it was a lot better than her last job, that was for sure. She’d even been able to afford restoring her dad’s old pride and joy, the R8. And the hours, except at times like this, were pretty cushy, she admitted. Even if it meant putting up with Lipsky in large doses. “So, where exactly do you want me to start looking?”

“I told you I’d leave it up to you. But, if you insist, we might do well to check with the New Eden authorities. Failing that, you may have to stoop to dealing with that tiresome Hench Company,” the tone in his voice was almost dismissive, and Shego knew that there was no love lost between her boss and Jack Hench.

After all, Hench Co. had been trying to muscle in on this particular bit of real estate ever since it had gone on the market. Word had it that they wanted to build another training facility. It was no secret that Hench was financing a small army. What he planned on doing with that many shock troops was anybody’s guess, and a major concern for the city as a whole.

But, the sticking point had been the last two years when the polls showed that crime was down more than thirty percent already, ever since Hench Co. started contracting out its forces as armed private security in the business sector downtown. If there were two things that stopped idle mouths, it was numbers and money. Hench just so happened to have both.

But, the cops, they were another sticking point in Shego’s book. It had been a long time since she and the boys in blue had been on anything other than rocky footing. It was only exacerbated now that she was in her current line of work. If you weren’t part of Hench Co., you were nothing better than a cheap rent-a-cop. At least she was licensed to carry a weapon. It wasn’t much, but it kept her off the bottom rung of the law enforcement food chain. “Got it, I’ll get right on that boss man,” the raven haired woman spun on her heel and headed for the door.

“Sheri, I thought I told you to call me Drew when we’re in my office,” he spoke just as she reached the doors.

She paused in mid-stride, “When you stop calling me that, I’ll start thinking about it.” Shego bit off, then continued on her way when it was obvious nothing further was going to be said. If there was one thing that really got her steamed, it was people continually referring to her by a name she thought she left behind a long time ago.

Unfortunately, it was still the one on all her official documents, so it kept getting dragged out into the light unexpectedly. Not that it wasn’t for lack of trying. She’d changed it twice, and then stopped bothering after that. It turned out that her mother had particularly effective lawyers, and moving halfway across the world hadn’t altered that fact one bit.

Pulling the doors shut again as she left, Shego headed back down to her car. The one bright side to this crappy morning was getting to drive around instead of being stuck, wandering around the building or cooped up in her office. The roads of New Eden were infinitely more exciting in comparison. 

–-

So far, Kim’s expectations of the day were being let down. Things had been going off without a hitch the moment she left her apartment, and she was starting to think this whole plan was a bad idea, and she made a habit of listening to her gut feelings.

She’d caught the Green line that would cut a few minutes off the trip to old town, the section of the city that was quickly being swallowed up, lost to the rapid pace of recent development.

She supposed some small part of her would lament the eventual demise, but the rest of her, the stronger part, decided that it was the sound of progress, no matter how ear-grating it might be. The city would continue to swell and grow, a giant snake shedding its skin, growing stronger and more poisonous with each cycle. Still, it was her city, and no one deserved to be crushed underfoot just for the sake of it. Not even a cheating prick and his thirty three hoes.

The courier frowned as she leapt from the top of the train to catch her footing on the roof of a truck that was driving near the rails, just within range if she pushed off hard enough. She made it, and squashed herself flat against the top, just in time as the truck went through an overpass. Maybe she wouldn’t cut it quite so close in the future, she thought, wincing as the dull throb in her injured arm picked that time to start acting up again.

Rubbing her arm as best she could in her uncomfortable position, with the lights in the underpass ceiling whipping by just a little too close for comfort, she hugged the truck a little flatter, one of the few times she was actually thankful for the slim build she’d inherited from her mother.

Eventually, the tunnel ended, and she could sit up as the truck exited back into the glaringly bright sunlight. Sitting there cross-legged, she watched a few street signs go by, and estimated that it would be a good ten minutes until she was close enough to hoof the rest of the way on foot. That was, as long as her unwitting ride continued to go straight. If not, catching a better ride from the top of a truck was preferable to that of a speeding train. Less risk of accidental death this way too given the city speed limit.

She didn’t have to worry, as the truck took her right to where she wanted to go. Home sweet home was just around the corner.

Even with the area being an older part of New Eden, it still bore the distinctive angular construction and gleaming façade, the underbelly of which was slowly beginning to show. Ten years wasn’t so long in the scheme of bigger things, even if it was almost half a lifetime for the former 33, and her old friends.

To her, she might as well have stepped back into a picture of two years ago. Everything looked the same, even if it felt like another ten years has passed in the meantime. It wasn’t just that her job took a lot out of her, contrary to what she might claim to anyone that asked. It was more that she had changed, had been given a chance to spread her wings beyond what she once knew.

Kim no longer had the luxury and the safety of numbers, the comfort of a friend’s shoulder to lean on. Yes, there was Wade, but theirs was a working relationship, if you could call it that. The two of them were something between acquaintances and friends, stuck in that fine gray area, though he was technically her boss in a certain sense.

No, she could count her friends on one hand and still have all five left, waggling in the wind. Sometimes she thought about that, and what it said about her, but that was just another reason to run, to keep moving faster than everyone else. It wasn’t her fault that no one else was good enough to keep up.

Had been good enough, Kim amended, feeling the faint pulse of pain that gnawed at her arm. She was going to have to train harder. The pale woman had been…strong; it was the only word that came to mind that the courier was willing to accept. Yes, she couldn’t afford to let herself get caught off guard like that again.

Making her way quickly through the narrow alley between the buildings that were steadily shrinking down to no more than three or four stories tall, the redhead vaulted up onto a fire escape to gain the high ground. The last thing she wanted right now was for them to notice her first. That would guarantee the loss of any street cred she might still have with the older members, assuming there were any left. She hadn’t bothered to keep track, though she could have asked Wade; her Tracker kept in professional contact with the 33, if only to get whatever edge he could on the actions of both Hench and the Blues.

As she mounted the roof, Kim congratulated herself on a job well done, because the moment she popped over the top of the ledge, she caught sight of someone on the next building over. Luckily, whoever it was had their back to the redhead, so she made use of that to move quickly between the vents and over to duck behind a satellite dish that completely hid her from view.

With an eye out for any other surprises, she scanned the rest of the rooftops in sight. They were all clear, so she took a peek around the dish and watched her clueless buddy across the way. Now that she was closer, there was no doubt that it was a member of her old tribe.

The tattoo was a dead giveaway, as were the purple and orange bands that she could see dangling from one wrist. It was a bit harder to guess gender at this distance, due to the baggy gray hoodie that the 33 was sporting, but Kim was willing to bet her hard earned cash that it wasn’t a guy.

That wouldn’t be Ron’s style, no matter how many of his runners that the Blues nabbed. Not that there weren’t men working for him, just that they had better be damn good to make the cut. Kim didn’t get that vibe from this 33. Not one bit, and it only drove home exactly what had changed since she’d been gone. Quality. The redhead was a stickler for that, especially from those she had to potentially trust with her life.

Maybe it was time to find out just how low the standards had sunk.

Kim made it across the remaining distance and was flying through the space between the two buildings to touch down on the edge almost exactly behind the 33. Her sneakers met the concrete ledge with the faintest of taps, and got no response. At this point, the redhead was less than two feet from the back of the 33’s hood, well within striking distance were she to be so inclined. She was so close, she could smell a faint hint of strawberry body spray. If this was a guy, her ex had more troubles than she’d thought. And if it turned out this girl was resting her eyes on the job, the 33’s were in for a load of shit. Kim found herself grinning, and it wasn’t the least bit nice.

Having already given all the warning she was going to give, the courier slipped down from her perch quieter than usual, and all but pressed up against the painfully unaware 33. With a quick jerk, Kim shot her left hand up and around the back of the hood, while snaking her other under the girl’s right arm, and across the throat, putting the 33 in a tight figure four choke hold.

As the 33 gasped and began to struggle, Kim was already sidestepping and dragging the clearly evident girl away from the ledge and over to the nearest cover behind a roof access door. By the time she got there, the 33 had fallen limp in the courier’s grip, so the redhead cautiously relinquished her hold, propping the willowy girl in a sitting position against the rear of the roof access. She’d used a submission hold, so she knew the girl wasn’t unconscious, probably had one hell of a crick in her neck, but still in the waking world. Playing possum wouldn’t get her very far, certainly not in this sitch.

“You can cut the act,” Kim crouched down on one knee so she was eye level with the girl, and reached out to push the hood away so she could get a good look at just who she was dealing with. The wavy blond hair and a slightly rounded face were familiar enough to her, despite sporting a ponytail. “I don’t think you want me to slap you, Tara. Open those baby blues, so we can have a few words.”

Tara winced, cracking one eye open to stare at the redhead. The downed girl rubbed at the side of her neck where Kim had dug her forearm in. “K-Kim, did you have to sneak up on me like that? This really hurts.”

“Good, that means it worked. Now, mind telling me what exactly you’re doing up here?”

“Huh? I’m supposed to meet B. She’s the only one I could get in touch with. What about you,” the blond asked trying to get back to her feet.

Kim stopped her with a hand on Tara’s forehead. “Nope, not so fast, and don’t worry about me. What do you mean ‘B’s the only one you can get in touch with,’ where are the others?”

Tara went cross-eyed, focusing on the hand that had her pinned. “I think they’re all with Ron, gone after Monique and Becky. You heard about that right? That’s why you came back?”

Not bothering to answer, the courier was lost in thought for a moment. She needed to contact Wade and see what he could find out. If they’d already left, then what little there was of her plan had just become dust in the wind.

“Can I get up now?”

Kim felt the blond start to push herself up, but paid no mind, pushing down a bit harder to keep her in place. The other 33’s save for one were probably already halfway to the central precinct, if not there already. There was no way she could make up that kind of time, especially since Ron was fond of taking the trains. Damn it, she knew this was a dumb idea to begin with.

“Please? This is kind of embarrassing.”

“Shh, I’m busy. Sit there and be quiet, and I’ll let go. Think you can handle that?”

“Um, yes?”

“Good,” Kim removed her hand, and dialed up Wade, just as she was about to press the connect button, another blast from the past interrupted her.

“Get away from her,” an annoyingly familiar and snide voice shouted out from another adjacent rooftop.

“B!” Apparently it was enough to perk Tara back up, and the blonde tried to leap back to her feet only to have her legs swept out from under her, plopping her on her ass. “Ow.”

“I didn’t say you could get up yet,” Kim frowned, clicking her KPS off. She turned her attention to the unwelcome guest, and one person she had hoped not to run into. Ron was one issue she could deal with, however grudgingly. B was…another matter all together. Or at least a horse of a different shade, if the redhead were being more honest with herself.

Apparently, the woman in question hadn’t yet realized that it was Kim she was dealing with, and proceeded to come bounding across the rooftops to remove the threat to her friend.

Kim waited until the 33 was almost on top of her before she struck. “It’s been a long time, Bonnie. Glad to see you could drag yourself up to join the party,” the redhead was gratified, able to tell the very moment that her words penetrated the charging brunette’s thick skull. She actually saw the meaning sink in, and the expression on B’s face was priceless. From anger, to surprise, to something approaching unbridled rage and a dash of that old jealously bubbling to the surface. But, it also stopped B cold in her tracks.

“Y-you…you think you can waltz in here? Come crawling back like nothing happened,” the brief moment of rage had fled and the brunette’s voice chilled to the bone. “You fucking walked out on us,” there was a flood of accusation in that single statement, spoken like a final truth.

“Well, I came back. Sorry if that inconveniences you, your highness,” Kim took a step away from Tara, not breaking her gaze from the brunette.

“Get the hell out. I don’t know what you’re thinking of doing here, but it’s not wanted. Turn around and walk away before I kick you over the edge myself,” B’s face was a mask, hiding her emotions now, much better than in the old days. She’d always held most of the 33’s at a distance, but this was a chasm in comparison.

“You know this isn’t just about Monique. The Blues are planning something, and it’s big. Bigger than us,” Kim took another step. “I don’t want to be here any more than you want me to. But, it’s serious this time. I just came to help, that’s all.”

“Just so you can run away again after it’s over,” the brunette stared hard at the other runner.

“I think you made it clear exactly how welcome I am. Besides, I’m not sticking around to deal with Ron’s bullshit a second longer than I have to.”

“Ron’s not here right now,” the brunette remarked offhandedly.

“So Tara told me. I don’t remember him being an early riser, well there was that one time,” the redhead shrugged. “Good thing I didn’t pay for a train ticket to get here.”

“They don’t do refunds after midnight anyway,” B finished the old joke between them, a bit of her mask crumbling despite herself.

“How long ago did everyone leave,” the redhead steered the subject back to the kind of drama she could handle at the moment.

Bonnie shook her head, “I’m not sure, Tara woke me up,” she glanced at her watch, “fifteen minutes ago. So anywhere from thirty to an hour,” she broke eye contact with Kim and turned to the blond and arched a brow.

Tara had since gotten back on her feet and was dividing her attention between the other two runners. She checked herself as soon as she noticed B’s unspoken question. “I called you as soon as I found out, B. Twenty minutes, tops.”

“Well, that’s just great,” Kim groused, rubbing the bridge of her nose. For Ron, a twenty minute head start might as well have been an hour. The shit was going to hit the fan before she got halfway there. The only reason she knew it hadn’t already begun was that Wade wasn’t frantically trying to get in contact with her. “I knew this was going to be a bust.”

“What are you going to do now,” B fielded, albeit with an almost uncomfortable reluctance.

“I’m going to see if I can find out what’s going on, and wing it from there as usual,” the courier flicked her KPS back on. “and the two of you?”

Tara glanced at B, waiting to see what the other 33 had decided. They hadn’t really discussed a plan of action yet, they’d agreed to meet up first.

“We’re going after them. I can’t just sit around here, and they might need an extra set of legs in case those armored goons show up.”

The redhead nodded, “I was thinking the same thing. If Hench Co. isn’t involved by the end of this, something is incredibly wrong.”

“Kim,” B hedged a bit. “What I said a second ago, about kicking you off the roof, I didn’t,” she stopped short when the redhead held her palm up.

“Save it. Now’s really not the time. I’ve got Wade on the line,” the runner turned her side to the 33’s, focusing on getting all the information she could out of her Tracker. All three of them were going to really have to push it, if they hoped to try and make the least bit of difference in this. There was no room for anything else in her mind.

–-

Shego could tell there was something going on around the NCPD building the moment she pulled onto the main drag. The traffic was bumper to bumper, and she could see two of the city’s News vans parked sideways in front of the police station, blocking off the entire left lane.

The R8 pulled around the block for the third time, and she thumped her fist against the steering column in frustration. “This is just freaking great. I’m not walking two damn blocks just because I can’t find a single parking spot. Screw this,” and then she spotted it, a truck pulling out from between two cars on the opposite side of the street. Slipping into a higher gear, she floored the accelerator and flipped a U-turn at the next intersection. If someone snagged that space before she got there, they were in for a world of hurt.

Blowing past a sedan that had its turn signal on, Shego edged across the double lane and sidled right up in front of the empty space, edging in backwards with practiced ease. The driver she’d cut off blared his horn twice, slowing down to flip her the bird.

“Yeah, fuck you too. Shoulda been faster, grandpa,” she snatched up a pair of wraparound shades from a case behind the gear shift. Though still early, the sun was already glaring down on the streets, and she had more than a block to go on foot; that called for a little extra.

Pausing to give herself a once over in the vanity mirror, she flashed her reflection a sleek smile, “That‘s what I‘m talking about…now, let’s get this done.” With that, Shego stepped out, ready to deal with the cops.

The New City Police Department Headquarters building wasn’t quite the monolith like the Spire in the center of the city, nevertheless it dwarfed the majority of the nearby high-rises and several of the skyscrapers. It was a beacon of Justice, a blazing blue and white symbol to the citizens of the city, that there was someone to watch over them. An ever vigilant bastion that stood tall and unbreakable during the day, and burned as a torch against those that roamed the streets at night.

Frankly, there was something to be said about their idea of what exactly constituted justice. Personally, the Head of Security for Drew Lipsky didn’t particularly care for them or the way they handled the criminal element. Not that she considered herself a paragon, or anything of the sort. Anyone in the city could tell you that the unofficial motto of the NCPD was, “Power perceived is Power achieved,” that or “Shoot first and Question never.”

The first one was something that the raven-haired woman could understand, for she put something similar into practice in her own line of work. But, hers was show and tell. She would show her new employees the various shapes she could bend a piece of rebar into, and then tell them that if they fucked up, she would do the same thing to them. It was a tried and true method of keeping the machine oiled and running smoothly. Most of the time, until recently anyway.

By the time Shego arrived at the building, the crowd she’d seen gathering at the base of the stairs leading up to the courtyard was much larger, and now there were roughly thirty of New Eden’s finest working a cordon. The officers were decked out in full tactical gear, and the line wasn’t budging as no one in the crowd looked too anxious to risk milling too close.

It also meant that she was probably going to have a bit of difficulty getting in to speak to anyone, at least until whatever was going on wrapped up. Which meant waiting around in the steadily rising heat, as more and more people showed up. It was already starting to get on her nerves. Wasn’t it enough that Lipsky was sending her all over the city, put up with an anal retentive like Hench, and law enforcement that she didn’t exactly see eye to eye with? There was no way she was going to stand here and listen to every idiot in the city yammer on while they waited for the show to get started.

Near the top of the stairs there was a podium that everyone seemed to be fixated on, being set up. A few moments later three officers exited the building and headed toward the stand. Shego recognized the thin, balding man in the middle, decked out head to toe in the NCPD dress uniform. The two flanking him to either side were, like their fellows manning the cordon, suited up in light riot gear. This had her slightly curious, since it wasn’t often that the Chief of Police made public appearances. The man was almost as notoriously reclusive as the Mayor these days.

Of course, this meant that the likelihood of her getting in to talk to anyone had plummeted drastically. Especially with all the heightened security in place. Already, she picked out several plain clothes cops milling in the throng, and more cops in riot gear were standing ready at the side of the building. Just what the hell was going on here?

She didn’t have to wait long for an answer.

The Chief reached the podium, and leaned in toward the microphone, “Citizens, people of New City, today there can finally be restitution. As all of you are painfully aware, on the sixteenth, we lost a fine leader, a man by which our own standards will forever me measured, and a light for the future, Robert Pope,” he paused for a moment aware that everyone was now hanging on his words. “We have, in custody, two of the individuals involved in Robert’s untimely demise,” the crowd gathered at the base of the stairs erupted in a frenzy of shouting, yelling and scattered applause.

Waiting for a moment as his officers began reigning in the more vigorous and vocal in the gathering, he continued on, “and by unanimous decision, as well as approval from Mayor Callaghan, we have opted to deal with these insurgents immediately and publicly, to put a stop to any further radical movements within our fair city,” he all but shouted into the mic, and the reaction from the crowd was understandably twice that of before.

So much so that a dozen more police, in the dark blue t-shirts sporting a blazing white CPD logo across the chests next to shiny silver badges, came out from the sides of the station to pacify the crowd. It appeared that they weren’t paying particular attention to whom they ‘calmed down.’ Shego took that as her cue to distance herself a bit more from the uproar, backing off from the edge of the people.

Above, the current head of the city’s law enforcement went on with his speech, “I assure you, the incidents last week are a thing of the past. The City will continue to move on, with your safety and well-being our primary concern. And to help illustrate that, we will show what happens to those who flagrantly buck the system, bring discord and incite anarchy,” he waved a gloved hand and the doors to the building opened once more for the arrival of four people, two were officers who were escorting a pair of young women between them, hands bound behind their backs.

“As you can see, the threat to peace knows no age, no gender. It corrupts our youth, and must be stamped out before it spreads. Compromise only weakens the pillars of the system, and that is something that New City, no, the World…can ill afford. We are the corner stone on which the future is dependent. There can be no weaknesses, no flaws in construction. We drew a line when we were asked to take up our charge, and it has been crossed. So now, here on this day, we make clear our stand, and let this be a message to those that would strive to undermine that bright future,” the Chief slapped his hands on the podium, staring out across the faces of New Eden.

Shego’s eyes widened marginally. This was a lot more serious that she’d first assumed, even given the presence of the Chief of Police. He was making it sound like they were about to hold a public execution, with the express approval of the Mayor, and doubtless the City Council. This was the kind of crap that fueled the riots back when the legislation for New Eden Estates had first passed. While she hadn’t been living in the City at the time, she remembered the news clips and the ensuing media backlash that eventually pushed the Council in the direction of establishing an official, sanctioned and sanitized media outlet. It was also the beginning of the city wide crackdown on both private and public access to electronic information.

That had all been nearly twelve years ago, but it still lingered in the minds of the people, some more so than others, as evidenced by the dissenters present at this little gathering. But, time had tempered and faded most of the old wounds. An entire generation had almost grown between then and now, in the shelter of a gleaming soap bubble. This was all they knew, and all the freedom they needed to stretch their wings.

Looking at the two young women that were being led like sacrificial lambs, it was glaringly obvious that some birds weren’t blind to the guilded cage they lived in. That self-same gift of sight also granted them just enough rope to hang themselves with. It was a heavy price to pay, one that appeared to have inflated ever since the trouble with the servers downtown last week. Only a fool wouldn’t be able to make the connection between that and the death of the high-powered Attorney being groomed for Mayor in the coming election.

Unfortunately, unless you happened to be present at either event, the spindoctors controlling the public broadcasts effectively disassociated any connection that could possibly form. Though there were some that had ways to get around that, should they be so inclined. On that count, Shego had kept her nose clean, preferring to let things work themselves out. That had been then. This, circus act, the NCPD was putting on, it stank…big time.

On the outside, it appeared to be nothing more than a publicity stunt to assuage the populace that, “Nothing is wrong. We have everything under control. If something bad happens, you can trust that it will be fixed, permanently.” That was the heavy-handed message they were sending out, never mind the glaring wrongness about it.

Behind the stand, the ringleader for this particular performance made a grand sweeping gesture, “We do not take pride in this, but there is simply too much at stake to let everything we’ve worked so hard for, the independence we’ve struggled to obtain, be threatened. Here, let it be known that we deal a blow for great Justice, against the threat of this terrorism,” his tone was low and his words carried the weight of the authority he was tasked with carrying out. It sounded like he believed in what lay behind his speech, making it all the more potent.

There was a simultaneous splatter of applause mixed with a more subdued cry of outrage that was quickly buried, smothered under the promise of violence to come. Shego could taste the sense of abject surrender, the bland mindlessness that these sheep had been culled to in the span of one single decade. Hell, the City might as well drug everyone and call it a job well done. The thought left a bitter taste in her mouth, something that she would gladly do any number of things to get rid of in an instant.

Disgusted, she started to turn away from the proceedings. The heavy feeling in her gut would only get worse the longer she hung around. There was no need to stay and watch this unfold. She knew how it would end, and worse, that she was contributing to the madness a little more each day. It was her job, after all, and unlike the professions of the Chief, a good bit of her took pride in the ease with which her presence alone could crush someone under the heel of her boot. An empty feeling of pride, but even that meant that she was feeling something. Anything was better than the blank stares that she found washing over her, filling the streets of New City, and New Eden held the worst of it.

So, she did her part, and brought emotion to these soulless ghosts. Everyone needed something to believe in, after all. For this raven-haired woman, that something was that which she wrought with her own two hands, no matter that it killed her softly, more and more each time she opened her eyes. That was the hardest part of all, becoming aware that you were in fact, your own worst enemy. Then again, that was the kind of life one found in this wonderful garden.

She didn’t make it more than a few steps when all hell broke loose behind her. The clapping and yelling turned to screams as two distinct gunshots went off in the crowd, and the black clad woman spun around, ducking low to avoid any potentially stray rounds. It was too hard to see just what was going on with people scattering every which way as the cops in riot gear rushed to tighten hold the line. In the courtyard, the Chief of Police was being covered by his two escorts, and was already being ushered away toward the relative safety of the bullet proof entrance doors.

Just as the disturbance appeared to be settling down, there was a muffled thump from somewhere above, and several windows on the NCPD building blew out, raining down shards of tinted glass. Along the sides of the building, the officers waiting around began to scatter to avoid the falling debris. Likewise, a few of those manning the cordon abandoned their posts, and dashed away as a second explosion went off higher up.

Heedless of the danger, several of the younger people in the thinning crowd took advantage of the gaps in the line, sprinting through, over and around the guards, clearing the stairs in the space of a heartbeat. They made beeline for the two girls, one of whom was already dealing with her captor in an impressive display of legwork.

As the glass settled, and the distraction became apparent, the officers holding back in the wings began to regroup and burst out into the open under a short burst of covering fire. The teens in the square took that as the sign to scatter, fanning out and bolting for anything they could put in between themselves and the cops.

Still partially bound, the two girls made a good show of vaulting over a row of potted plants and onto the edge of concrete that lined a group of trees heading out toward the street. Behind them, right on their heels, a lanky guy with mussed blond hair was yelling something that Shego couldn’t make out over the pot shots the cops were taking at them.

Flattening herself against the short wall that surrounded the perimeter up to the stairs, she avoided the stampede of the swiftly dispersing mob, while keeping herself out of the way of any negative attention from the officers in the heavier tactical gear. It proved to be a good decision as not a moment later she watched several people get tripped up in their haste and trampled in the process. Not a pretty way to go.

There was a crack and Shego saw a young brown haired man in a sweatshirt fall, taking two or three others down with him as his shoulder blossomed red, only to be lost in the shuffle. Either the cops were beyond caring about collateral damage at this point, or the kid had been taken for one of the so called terrorists. This thing was fast getting out of hand. It was time to get moving while the getting was good. Naturally, something just had to pick that moment to catch her attention.

A distinctive flash in the corner of her eye caused Shego to look upward, and there running at a breakneck pace along the edge of the roof of a building two stories tall across the street, were three lithe figures. Even at this distance, she could plainly see that the figure in the lead had a shock of bright red hair whipping behind in a long ponytail. Straining to make out details, the raven haired Head of Security craned her neck, squinting through her dark shades as the runner on the roof made a prodigious leap and disappeared down the side of the roof. It was too much of a coincidence for her to let it slide, so Shego made a snap decision, and damn the consequences. Squaring her shoulders, she charged into the thankfully thinning mass, bowling over several hapless bodies heedless of their fates. As far as she was concerned, the sheep chose their fate the moment they came to this damn gathering in the first place.

Shego had herself a thief to put the screws to.


	5. Chapter 5

Kim Possible is property of Disney. Mirror’s Edge is property of Electronic Arts. This is a work of fiction and not for profit. Original characters are property of author. A fan fiction by Six-string Samurai. Two Gravities. 

Kim had to admit she was a little impressed with the two dogging her steps, especially given how much ground the trio had covered. No, even she was willing to give credit where it was due. Contrary to her expectations, she knew that there were at least two 33’s that lived up to the name. Probably a third if she felt like being generous, which she wasn’t. Getting caught by the blues put a big smudge on street cred, especially for Runners out of Old town, doubly so for a Runner of Monique’s stature.

Of the girls hot on her heels, she was more surprised with the blond, who was nearly pacing her stride for stride. Someone had obviously been putting the girl through the wringer, and Kim didn’t wonder at who that happened to be. It was pretty obvious by the way Bonnie shadowed the other runner, keeping herself just to the outside of any ledge they happened to cross. It was probably for the best, because in the short time that Kim had been around the blond, it was even plainer to see that Tara hadn’t been focusing on all the aspects of Runner life. The girl definitely wasn’t a fighter, no matter how well those long legs moved.

There hadn’t been a way to make up the lead that the other Runners had on them, so Kim had arranged for Wade to plot the fastest route from Old town to the NCPD building, once he found out that Monique was being held there. The direct route had involved two train jumps and a lot of cross traffic, but they’d made it in one piece, barring a few near slips on Tara’s part, but the girl was still alive. Kim did her best to not deal in might haves.

By the time they got close enough to see what was going on, the party had already started without them. The first explosion across the street was more than enough to let Kim know that Ron was taking this serious, and maybe a little personally. That he was going this far for was understandable on a certain level, and it certainly wasn’t just because the two of his crew were in a tight spot. It was all about Monique, the redhead was sure of it, and that was what rankled Kim.

She swallowed the scratchy feeling that had been in the back of her throat since finding out Monique had been put on the chopping block. Ron had charged off at a moment’s notice. That feeling, it didn’t quite go away, instead choosing to catch in her chest, a stubborn splinter. Was it jealousy? She wasn’t sure, and she didn’t care to pick at it and risk digging up something bitter and ugly.

“Think we should get down there,” the brunette put her hands on the ledge, watching the crowd scatter as gunfire cut the air following a second explosion. “It’s a mess.”

“Hey, I can see Ron,” Tara chimed, pointing out another distinctive blond, one of the few that were racing up the stairs, into the courtyard rather than away from it. “Is he crazy,” she leaned against the ledge next to the brunette.

B shook her head, “Maybe, but he’s pulling it off,” her gloves curled on the concrete, “as long as he doesn’t get a bullet in his ass on the way out.” Pulling her eyes away for a split second, she shot a glance Kim’s way. “Still want to get in on this?” Down below the gunfire continued to ramp up as the Blues regained their equilibrium.

“Something isn’t right here. This is more than just a publicity stunt,” Kim narrowed her eyes, mind racing. “There’s no way they didn’t expect the 33’s to show up. So, why the shitty setup? They had plenty of time to get more people into position,” the redhead considered the other buildings, scanning the windows, and rooftops for likely sniper positions. “Why let them slip the trap?” She knew she was missing a piece of the puzzle, but there wasn’t a whole lot of time to debate the how’s and why’s.

But, there was someone who did have time on his hands. The redheaded courier dialed up her handler. “Wade, you’re following the situation? I need you to tell me what I’m not seeing,” she pulled the other women away from the front side of the building while waiting for a response.

Both Bonnie and Tara shared a questioning look, but jogged after Kim, who was making her way over to a fire escape on the side ledge. “Are we just going to wait on her,” the blonde pulled at her friend’s arm. “I don’t want to be too late.”

The taller 33 frowned, but had to concede that waiting a few seconds longer probably wasn’t going to make a big difference. Besides, Kim was right about this mess. It wasn’t sitting well with her either. All of them had been dealing with the Blues long enough to know how they liked to do things. Personally, she was already angry with Ron for running off without making sure everyone was in on this. Not that she got along with Monique all that well, especially not after Kim left.

Two years, it was both a blink of an eye, and a lifetime ago. Thinking back, she wasn’t particularly proud of her own part in contributing to the redhead cutting ties with them. Really, the brunette had been only thinking of getting some small satisfaction from watching Kim get a dose of reality in her rose-colored world. Not that any of them really had it great, either then or now. But, for the redhead, things just always seemed to fall into place. Like the world treated her just a bit better than everyone else.

That was a bunch of bullshit, B knew. Kim had it no better and ultimately, a bit worse than the rest of the crew. Especially after nearly everyone all but stabbed her in the back. Too many of the other runners had similar feelings about the redhead for it not to have turned out the way it did. B looked from Kim’s back to Tara’s expectant face. She didn‘t bother really making a comparison. It was automatic. Kim still came out on top, and everyone else could only watch as the redhead continued to climb, past each new limit.  
“Tara,” B paused, making sure of herself.

The blonde frowned, not caring for the way B had been staring after the ex-33. “You’re letting her decide for us,” Tara reluctantly confirmed without really asking. She didn’t need to, she knew the brunette better than anyone, or so she liked to think, and it was the same for B and Kim, once upon a time. Tara really didn’t want to hear B say it, so she gave the brunette’s arm a faint squeeze and just nodded her head, letting her know that it was fine by her. As long as they all got home after this was over, it didn’t matter who called the shots.

“It’s bound to be better than my plan,” B conceded. Mostly since her best idea was a repeat of Ron’s performance. After all, it seemed to be working out fine, despite their collective misgivings on the Blues behavior. But, that was also the heart of her own decision. Habits die hard after all, and it was just easier to let the redhead take the reins. Bonnie had to fight to keep the edge of a smile from her lips. If she could ignore the gap between them, it would almost be like old times.

Well, there was Tara to think of too, though B was positive the blonde wouldn’t do much without a word from her first. In turn, Tara’s dependence kept B on her toes, kept her sharp. Not that the shorter girl was spineless, quite the opposite in fact. Just that B understood the blonde needed someone to point her in the right direction sometimes. A firm hand to guide her. In return for that, B found in her, someone that she could trust not to let her repeat old mistakes. A friend that wouldn’t stand by and watch her get stabbed in the back; someone that she didn’t have to see on the other side of the mirror.

Keeping one ear on the sporadic gunfire, Kim waited for what seemed like a full minute before Wade got back to her, his voice coming in clear over the ambient noise.

“Kim, you need to get out of there, as in right now. It’s not just the Blues, Hench is in on it too. I picked up a few stray comms, they’re sending in three teams. Cordons are up already further down the main drag,” the urgency was plain, though his voice was rock solid.

“Damn it, I knew it,” the redhead turned to try and see if she could spot the roadblock, but the glare from the sunlight against the buildings down the street was too much. “How much leeway do we have?”

“Maybe three blocks, if that. Hold on,” there was a small click as the line switched over, then Wade’s voice came back after a moment. “Sounds like they’ve started to tighten it.”

Even though they couldn’t see the actual blockade, the three runners watched as the traffic down below began slowing to a crawl a few buildings away. It was going to make a getaway all that much harder.

For Tara and B, they could only hear Kim’s side of the conversation, but it was easy to tell what was going on from such a vantage point. Down below, Ron and the others wouldn’t see a thing. But, they would figure it out in short order, once the flow of traffic stilled completely. 

“Let me know when Hench actually has people on the ground. Watch the trains too, if the shut those down, this is going to be a really short run,” Kim left the line open, but faced the other two. “Hench is throwing in with the Blues on this. We have next to no time before more guns show up, but we need to let them know the Blues are just buying time,” she didn’t bother specifying who them was, it was plain the way her face tightened as she said it.

“So, we’re just going to hit the ground running and hope for the best, that it,” B cocked her head, “that’s the greatest plan I’ve ever heard.”

“I was hoping for a bit better myself, but the direct approach works best, most of the time,” the redhead brushed off the undisguised jibe. She’d heard too many similar remarks pass those lips before. It usually happened when the brunette was trying to cover for her own shortage of ideas. Or she was just being snotty for no good reason. Either way, it had stopped mattering to Kim the moment she left old town. There was no reason for her to let a little weak sarcasm slow her down.

“I was thinking more along the lines of how we are supposed to get everyone past whatever little surprise they’ve got cooked up for us,” B stepped over to get a better look at the sea of chaos. “They’ve got a few patrol cars coming up fast, all blues though, none of those damn vans,” she spat. It was common enough these days, that every runner in the city knew that the unmarked black vans meant trouble. Jack Hench, the founder of the global security company, too often played for keeps, and none of his employees seemed to bat an eye when it came down to pulling the trigger on a runner, armed or otherwise. Black vans meant nothing but trouble. 

Kim understood where B was coming from, “Wade tells me that more company is on the way, three vans worth. If we can warn everyone to fan out, they’ll have a bitch of a time just trying to figure out who to go after. Especially with all that gear slowing the Blues down. One of us just needs to get the word spread,” she spun on her heel and made for the fire escape that jutted out a good extra three meters from the ledge. It would make the jump to the next roof child’s play.

“And the rest of us,” B voiced her suspicions.

The redhead called back as she made the effortless landing, “What else, we could use some distractions of our own.”

Kim was already off and running as the two 33’s pushed to catch up. Together the three of them dashed for the next edge, which would put them almost directly across the street from the Police Headquarters.

B grit her teeth and pushed her legs just that little bit harder to pull up along the redhead, “Just who’s supposed to be the bait?”

“That depends on which one of you is faster. It’s your call this time, not mine. How good is she,” Kim slowed a tad as they got closer to the edge.

“What, Tara? Maybe a little less than I was, when we met. She’s quicker than me though, if that’s what you’re asking,” the brunette matched the ex-33’s pace, and could hear the blonde nipping at her own heels. “Why?”

They reached the end of the roof, where Kim slid to a halt with the side of her foot snug against the lip of the ledge. “Because, the faster one goes after Ron and the rest,” she scouted the ledge for the quickest way down, spotting a water pipe that would do. “It looks like the Blues are trying to pin them down while Hench sends in his troops.”

Indeed, her words appeared to strike true, as the scene unfolded on the street. The three of them watched as the fleeing crowd began to thin, and more than a few disappeared under the tide of sneakers and dress shoes, either knocked down or victim to a stray bullet. It was easy to pick out the Runners from the white collars, just by the way they moved. As they watched, the Blues started to rally and more of the officers in armor flooded out from where they’d been waiting in the wings. Already, Kim could count at least two fallen Runners, but they were too far away to identify with any certainty.

“Get moving, there’s no more time,” Kim hopped over the side and snagged the pipe, “Tara, you go after Ron, or whoever you can get to quickest, let them know Hench is on the move, and the roads are being cut off. We’ll keep them off your tail,” she spared no more words and quickly slid down the pipe three stories, dropping neatly atop a dumpster in the alley below.

“I’m doing what,” Tara goggled, still having trouble with the idea of running toward the Blues instead of the other way. Then again, maybe that was better than actually trying to get them to shoot at her. She wasn’t sure she cared much for this plan at all. It wasn’t like she had much of a choice, she realized. B and Kim would have their own problems soon enough. “We’re talking about this when we get back, B,” she promised as she shimmied down the pipe almost on top of the brunette. She was starting to recall just why she didn’t really like the redhead, and it had little to do with the recent memory of the choke hold Kim had put her in, probably out of spite.

The brunette tuned the muttered complaints raining down from above, and concentrated on not twisting her ankle on the dumpster’s angled lid. She was having similar thoughts about Kim as it was, and the redhead was right about one thing, this wasn’t the time for a wandering mind. Each of them would need to be on top of their game. Just because they were at the relative safety of street level, didn’t mean that they could slack off. Catching a bullet was just as fatal as a missed step upstairs.

Dropping down from the dumpster, B heard Tara land just after her. Dusting her gloves, the brunette turned to go and almost walked right into Kim, who apparently hadn’t moved but two or three steps since hitting the ground. “What’s going on, I almost busted my nose on your big head,” she cut off anything more that she was about to say as she noticed that the redhead was ignoring her and was holding herself in a loose combat stance. Leaning out to the side, B suddenly feared she would be staring down the wrong end of a gun.  
But, the mouth of the alley was empty of either Blues or Hench goons, there was only a single woman blocking the way out to the street. “Kim, what gives,” to say the brunette was confused was an understatement. As far as she could tell, the woman was unarmed, and her skin was unnaturally pale, almost translucent. So much so, that B wondered if the woman was sick. Whatever the case, Kim hadn’t so much as budged in the last five seconds. “C’mon, what’s the problem? There’s three of us, and one of her,” she pointed over the redhead’s shoulder.

Kim thought about the concrete pillar this one woman had cracked with a single blow. Then she considered Tara’s less than stellar fighting ability, and stacked that up with her own last experience fighting the brunette, “How many fights have you been in since last time,” she asked out of the corner of her mouth.

Bonnie tried to figure out what that had to do with anything. This was basic math, 3 to 1 odds were shitty if you were the one on the wrong end. “Just the usual, nothing big…Ron tries to make sure we stay out of too much trouble. I’m just as good as I was last time I kicked your ass, so let’s go, we’re wasting time,” she made to shoulder past Kim, but the redhead shot out a hand before B could take more than a step. The brunette found herself pinned to the side of the dumpster, “the hell are you doing!”

“And Tara’s not as good as you. You probably won’t let her be. But, that’s beside the point,” Kim released her grip. “I’ve been pushing hard since then. Very hard, because I don’t have anyone out there to watch my back,” she shot the brunette a sideways glance that held a deep hurt that disappeared before B could be sure she wasn’t imagining things. “And she,” Kim put her guard back up, “did a pretty good job trying to hand my ass to me last night. I don’t think it’s going to matter if there are three of us, or not.”

Tara got down and pulled at her friend, “Let her do what she wants, you’re right, there probably isn’t a whole lot of time. You and me can go around the back way. Maybe we can head Ron off before they get too far.”

Up until that point, Shego had kept out of the little powwow going on. They might be in a rush, but right now, she had all the time in the world, and didn’t have to worry about dealing with any cops, or going to that jerk Jack Hench to ask for help. The redheaded thief had dropped right into her lap, and now she even had a little name to go with the face, “Kim,” Shego spoke faintly, almost as if she were tasting it, and found it missing something.

Apparently the thief heard her, and the raven haired woman found herself once again the subject of a sharp gaze, one that was entirely too serious. She’d had time to think about it, think about the chase that she’d been led on, and the subsequent fight. It was clearly a challenge. It had been a very long time since someone had come along to test her, and it was high time she did something about it. There was meaning in testing your limits, in pushing yourself to be better than you thought you could be. Shego could tell that this woman understood something similar.

In fact, the redhead all but said the words to her short-haired accomplice, right after putting the brunette in her place in a way that Shego could appreciate. But, just watching the redhead for a moment was enough to convince the head of security that the thief desperately needed to lighten up. A challenge was good, and a contest of wills was fine, but walking around with a stick up your ass wasn’t supposed to be a public affair. Taking a few steps toward the waiting trio, she decided to kick things off, “Kimmie,” Shego smirked at the expression the newly christened nickname evoked. It was like the redhead was trying to burn Shego to a cinder with the force of her glare alone. “I’m willing to make a deal. But only this once.”

That got their attention, and the three Runners all looked toward the tall pale woman. Kim spoke first, “What are you talking about, what kind of deal?”

“It’s pretty simple really, and very generous of me, If I do say so myself,” as she spoke, she took off her shades, folding them deliberately, put them into a small case and into an inside jacket pocket. “You tell your friends to scoot,” she made a shooing motion with one of her hands. “I’m sure they can entertain themselves for a few minutes, what with all the partying going on out there,” the noirette waited for that to sink in. Honestly, she didn’t care what they did, as long as they didn’t get in her way. Out of the two, only the brunette with the feisty look was worth a second look. The blonde wouldn’t last a second, and Shego didn’t want to have to get her jacket dry cleaned again. She’d scotch-guarded it after last time, but the blonde looked like a real bleeder.

The three women shared a confused glance, but Kim decided that this was already working in their favor. Still, something about the way the pale woman was almost hiding a smile bothered her “And,” she prompted.

Now, Shego did grin, and it was all teeth, “and I’ll help you get that thing out that’s been bothering you.”

Kim wasn’t quite sure what the woman was talking about, but she was starting to get an idea, especially when she noticed B looking at her kind of funny. She was probably going to regret this, “what would that be?”

Bonnie and Tara shared a look, and B interjected, “I hate to break up, whatever this is, but we’re going since it doesn’t look like she,” the brunette jerked her chin toward Shego, “doesn’t seem to have a problem with that.” When it was obvious that the pale woman wasn’t making a move to stop them, the two 33’s took off for the street.

That left Shego and Kim alone, and the pale woman continued as if nothing had happened. She walked up until the two were nearly toe to toe, “You know, that stick that you’ve somehow managed to jam all the way up your ass. You should be more careful with your hobbies, Kimmie,” Shego was rewarded immediately with a reaction, and was doubly grateful she put her shades away. She leaned back to avoid it and leather still brushed her nose.

Her own hand snaked up to catch the redhead’s wrist as it retreated. Shego was more certain than ever. This was what she’d been searching for. The smile returned in force as she twisted and applied a wrist-lock. Before she could get a solid hold, the redhead in her grasp flipped sideways and broke Shego’s grip, knocking her off balance when she had to block a hidden kick that went for her neck in passing.

As Kim inverted herself, she lashed out again with a second kick that connected with Shego’s hip, sending the taller woman stumbling backward and giving the redhead the time she needed to spin around back onto her feet. Not wanting to give her opponent the same chance, she darted in and hammered a tattoo of quick strikes against that leather jacketed guard. Strikes which were soaked up like water.

“You’re pretty good at that, just a little higher on the right side, I’ve had a wicked knot there for the longest time,” Shego made an appreciative noise in the back of her throat. Though actually, her left arm was starting to go numb; the redhead was certainly deft with those bony knuckles, digging repeatedly at the nerves buried in Shego’s thickly muscled forearms.

If the woman was willing to sit there and take the assault, Kim’s eyes widened and she darted back several steps out of reach. Just in time too, as hands passed through where her head had been not a second before, snaking back with only a few strands of red hair to show, hooked fingers that had been aiming for her eyes. The woman might act like she was playing around, but there was serious intent behind that façade. Kim could see that it wasn’t going to end with them both just walking away, not this time.

Kim braced herself as best she could as she caught the full brunt of a booted heel. Luckily, the side of the dumpster behind her broke her fall. A spinning follow up kick kept her on her toes, smashing against the metal as she rolled back out into the open. She could ill afford to let the dark haired woman corner her against the alley wall.

“You aren’t making this any easier, are you? Maybe you're not used to people doing you a favor,” Shego flexed her hands, driving forward at the redhead, slashing her arms out in wide arcing swipes, slipping in a kick whenever Kim tried to take advantage of the gaps left in her defenses.

“How is this doing anyone a favor,” Kim asked leaning away from another swipe, narrowing her eyes as she caught onto the pattern that the other woman was weaving into her otherwise random attack. She started dodging with less and less room to spare, doing her best to avoid drawing any more of the crushing kicks her way.

“Stand still for a minute and I’m sure you’ll find out,” Shego put a bit more force behind her next slash, twisting to reach that last inch she needed to connect. The grin that was creeping across her face slipped when Kim hooked her arm, abusing the momentum to swing her own body up and around. The lithe thief pasted herself to the outstretched arm and scissor her legs on both sides of Shego’s neck, twisting herself hard, back toward the concrete. Shego tried to pull her arm out of the lock, but the redhead’s added weight tipped her balance, taking them both down hard.

There was a small crack from the pile they landed in.  
Kim held tight, trying to secure an arm bar even as she landed on her shoulder. Even though she’d seen first hand the devastation this woman’s blows held, she was no slouch herself. Still, the leather clad arm she was gripping madly, began to bend. The redhead took that as a sign to pull backwards harder, crossing her ankles to hopefully choke out the woman who was already starting to twist Kim’s left foot the wrong way. Kim felt her back leave the ground, “Shit,” she strained, feeling weightless even as she arched her back to manage the arm bar. The feeling lasted about half a second longer, until her back cracked down against the alley floor again. She grunted at the impact and her grip slacked just that little bit more.

Shego grit her teeth and lifted the girl up a second time, the muscles in her shoulder and neck bunching with the effort. Once the redhead was airborne, Shego let gravity do the easy part and felt the legs around her neck start to slack. Her free arm released the torque she was putting on Kim’s ankle, reaching up to wedge between the redhead’s calf and her own neck for some breathing room. “Little koalas should know when to let,” she spat out, getting her arm up and under the leg, prying it off, “go,” she bit off, swatting away the knee that tried to mash her nose in.

Kim hit the ground a third time, yanking her legs away as she lost her hold completely. Twisting away, the courier ended up in a crouch facing her opponent with a wary eye, ignoring the insistent urge to rub her bruised back. She watched as the noirette slid smoothly back to her feet. The woman made no move toward Kim, rolling her neck slowly from side to side, tilting her head until there was an audible pop. Kim took that as her cue to rise from her crouch. “What are you really doing here, anyway?” There was no sense in not taking advantage of a lull, and it gave her a chance to think about more than just the next step ahead.

There was a series of small crackles from Shego’s jacket as she lowered her arm from her neck, and her brows furrowed. Blatantly ignoring the redhead’s question, she unzipped the top of her jacket enough to reach inside. “Son of a bitch.” She pulled out the shattered remains of her sunglasses. “You’ve gotta be kidding me. I just bought these,” she tossed the useless pair toward the garbage dumpster. “Guess I deserve it. Should've made sure to ask for the rate up front,” she fixed the redhead with a lopsided smirk.

“Rates? Rates for what?” Kim was beginning to get the sense that there was a theme behind the taller woman’s comments.

“Five minutes with you just cost me two fifty,” Shego said with a shrug. “If I knew it was that much, I’d have made sure to get my money’s worth,” she paused in thought. “I wonder if I could write it off as a business expense.”

That was enough for things to finally click in place, and the courier scowled indignantly, racing for a suitable comeback.

Shego held back a laugh, Kim’s cheeks were almost as red as her hair. “Back on the clock, are we?”

“What do you want,” the redhead spat, bringing her fists back up.

“You actually have to ask me that, Kimmie,” she tacked on the name just to see if the girl would glow any brighter. “I should be asking you the questions, like just why we caught your pretty face on camera last night? Why you were sneak sneaking around the labs. You know, doing things that could kill a curious cat burglar.” Shego zipped her jacket back up, and adjusted her gloves. “At least, that’s probably what the boss man wants to know,” she added as an afterthought.

“So, you’ve been following me,” Kim almost found herself impressed, if she’d been tailed across the city.

Shego shook her head, “Sorry, princess, chalk this one up to Fate, or Luck…take your pick. Imagine my surprise when you fell out of the sky, right into my lap,” she spread her hands. “The boss wants to find out exactly what you’re up to, who you might be working for, all the boring details.”

“And he sent you after me?”

“You’re quick on the uptake, aren’t you.”

Beyond the mouth of the alley, the sporadic gunfire had stopped, as had the wail of sirens. “I’ve had other things on my mind,” Kim shot a glance toward the sunlit street.

“Your two girlfriends?”

“Not even close, but I did have some business around here to take care of.”

“Sounds to me like you missed the party,” the long-haired woman pointed out. 

“And as much fun as you seem to be having with this little chit-chat is, I’m not really interested in making small talk. We can play fifty questions later. Right now, the meter’s ticking,” Shego tapped her watch.

“You’re crazy if you think I’m going anywhere with you,” Kim took a step toward the dumpster, running through ways to slow the woman down. If she could get to the roof, it would be easy enough to lose her, the courier was certain of it. There was nothing else she could do at the moment to help any of the thirty-threes. Not when she had her hands full.

“I didn’t think you’d come willingly,” she shook her head, “That would have made it boring. This works out a lot better, don’t you agree,” Shego launched herself at the smaller girl before Kim could completely get out of the way, mashing her against the corner of the dumpster and the alley wall.

As the redhead was pushed back, she managed to get one knee wedged up between herself and Shego, kicking the woman in the gut as hard as she could.  
The redhead’s foot slammed into Shego, and she reeled backwards a few steps before catching herself. She brought her arms up just in time to weather a second kick, and knock aside the third that flashed up toward her head. 

“That’s what I’m talking about.” She grinned, flashing her teeth at the girl hammering away to break through her guard.

Kim let the hard block spin her around and she dropped down into a leg sweep, taking out Shego’s front foot. Bracing herself with her hands on the ground, the courier whipped her legs around again in a flair, popping her sneakers up under the raven haired woman’s arms, landing a glancing blow into her ribs and a solid hit to the chest, knocking Shego flat on her ass.

Picking herself up, Shego got to her feet as Kim vaulted onto the dumpster, already reaching up to snag the bottom of the water pipe. “Where are you going? We’re just getting warmed up,” she scrambled after the escaping redhead. Shego got up onto the dumpster as the courier was nearly a meter up, legs still dangling within easy reach. “Don’t even think about it, I’m not doing the whole run after you bit again. Besides, that pipe looks dirty as hell and you want to rub yourself all over it?” She grabbed Kim’s legs and gave a hard tug.

“You’re crazy! Let go,” Kim swung her legs, trying to kick free, but it felt like a vise was clamped around her ankles. Another insistent pull and her grip started to go. “Are you trying to kill me? Stop pulling already, I’ll get down,” she sighed, trying to get a better grip on the sides of the pipe, and not think about what would happen if she let go while her ankles were being held. It wasn’t a pretty picture, and probably wouldn’t kill her, unless she was lucky. With the way the day was going so far, Kim didn’t want to test it out.

Shego shifted her grip higher up on the girl’s legs, “And have you kick me in the face, I don’t think so. Just let go of the pipe, and I'll take care of the rest.” The dumpster lid creaked beneath the noirette, starting to dent in beneath her feet. She glanced down, “Uh, wait a second.”

“What are you talking about? Quit pulling, I’m starting to slip here.”  
The lid dipped, bending threateningly as a disgusting smell wafted out. “Hell no, I just got this back from the cleaners,” Shego grabbed tighter around Kim, trying to step over to the other half of the lid without releasing her hold.

“I said stop yanking on me!” Kim glared down at the other woman, who wasn’t paying her any attention, aside from gripping tighter. Then the smell hit her and she saw the lid crumpling. All of Shego’s weight hit her at once, ripping her hands right off the pipe. “You’ve gotta be--” Kim yelped, covering her head with her arms as the dumpster lid gave way completely below Shego, dropping both of them into the trash.


End file.
